Dimension Jumpers
by Xejis
Summary: Tsuna is your average bullied nobody. However, everything changes the day he comes home late from the bookstore only to find his mother frozen and an menacing stranger in the house. Will he survive? What is the significance of the ring he tripped over? What is the Vongola? And who is the suit wearing baby that keeps appearing? Find out in Dimension Jumpers. (No Mafia)
1. Chapter 1

** My very first khr fic! Yay. Haha I got inspired by all of the wonderful khr stories out there and decided to add my own. Okay so this is based of an idea I had for an original story of mine, but since I wasn't going anywhere with it for the time being I decided to put the cast of Reborn in and have some fun with it. Due to the clashing of these two worlds I had to change a few things from my original story, but I think it worked out pretty nicely. Note, there is no mafia in this story. **

**Declaimer: Unfortunately I only own the idea for the story and not the characters or plot of Katekyo Hitman Reborn.**

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_My name is Tsunayoshi Sawada, but most people just call me Dame-Tsuna. Why? Well that's because I'm clumsy and awkward around people. I get bad grades and am too much of a push over to stand up to bullies. Even my teachers and other adults call me dame. When I was younger I got upset and end up crying over it, but I've gotten used it now. I guess years of the abuse will do that to you. They're not entirely off base either, I am useless and no good at everything I do. Sports, school, friends, the list goes on. The only thing I'm really good at is reading through books, which drives my teachers up the wall. They used to yell at me saying if I could read three books in the course of three days then why couldn't I do their homework or read my text books. They stopped yelling after and while and eventually gave up on me, only the particularly cruel ones ever pick on me to answer a question in class. Others leave me alone and let me read through-out class. _

_Needless to say I've don't have any friends, but that's fine. I've got my mother and my books. Which leads me to my current problem….._

Tsuna sighed and once again found himself staring out the window. He set his pencil down and frowned at his sloppy handwriting. His mom said that he should start a journal, and that to write all of his feelings one paper would help him, but it was only making him more miserable. He sighed again before looking over at current problem; his overflowing book case. Despite the many books on the self he had nothing to read. Or more correctly he had nothing to read that he hadn't already read at least three times.

Standing up he popped his back and grabbed his wallet before heading down the stairs only to trip on the last step.

"Owww." He whined while rubbing his head. This was not shaping up to be a good outing.

He mom's head popped in from the kitchen with a worried look on her faces. "Tsuna-kun, are you alright dear?"

Tsuna smiled faintly and stood up. "Yeah, I just tripped. I'm going out to the bookstore okay?"

She smiled in relief and waved him off after promising him to come back in time for dinner since they were having company tonight. He smiled and promised before heading out the door.

He passed a group of children drawing on the sidewalk and smiled at them with faint nostalgia and longing. He remembered the days when he used to do that in front of his own home, though he didn't have a group of friends to draw with he still had a lot of fun. Turning his eyes back to the sidewalk in front of him so he didn't trip again he wondered if any new books had come in yet.

Turning a corner he smiled at the sight of the quaint little bookshop that he had grown to love. When he was little, about nine, he had ran inside in order to hide from some bullies and ended up meeting and talking to the shop keeper for longer than he anticipated. Kawahira was a good listener and had been the prime instigator for his love for books. He slipped into the familiar shop quickly and glanced at the front desk. Kawahira was deep in a conversation with…what looked like a baby in a suit standing on the counter. His eyes lingered momently on the baby's hat where a strange green lizard like animal blinked at him before heading over to a bookshelf to take a look. After scanning for anything interesting Tsuna finally decided on a promising looking book titled The False Prince.

The baby was gone and Kawahira smiled at him. "Good evening Tsuna I didn't hear you come in. Do you want to buy that one?"

Tsuna smiled back. "Yes, please. Thank you Kawahira-san. I don't have much time today since we have a guest coming over for dinner, but I wanted to ask you about what you were talking about yesterday. About, how our choices define the future and how each choice leads to a different future. I think it's really interesting."

He paused and blushed, he was rambling again. He glanced shying at Kawahira only to find him smiling in amusement at him.

"Sure, of course." He scanned the book and the price popped up on the cash register. "Who's coming over, a friend of your mothers?"

Tsuna handed him the money. "No, a new neighbor from the empty house next to ours. Honestly I think it's kind-of weird since that house has been empty for years now, but lady looks nice I suppose."

Kawahira paused and glanced sharply at him. "Do you have a bad feeling about her? Like something isn't right?"

Tsuna jumped his eyes wide. "What, uh, well no. Why would something be wrong?"

His voice went a little high at the end of the sentence and he winced a little. Kawahira gave him a piecing look before relaxing and smiled at him apologizing for his rudeness. Tsuna accepted it with a strained smile and bid him goodnight. He practically ran from the store and only slowed down a block later. He bent over panting quietly.

Truth be told he did get a bad feeling from the lady, though he had only seen her once or twice and she always seem preoccupied. But he didn't want to think ill of someone he barely knew, much less make his mother worry should he tell her. He frowned and shook his head to clear unwanted thoughts. But even as he pushed the thought away dread seeped into his stomach making it churn uncomfortably.

Telling himself he was being silly he straightened up and continued toward his house only to be knocked over by a man running passed him. He shrieked in surprise as he suddenly found himself on his butt staring after the familiar retreating figure. He blinked as the baby from Kawahira's shop disappeared around the corner and shook his head. He got to his feet his hands stinging from the fall and trudged forward praying nothing else happened tonight.

Unfortunately fate seemed to be particularly cruel this evening and Tsuna once again found himself on his butt wondering how he got there. Looking down at his feet spread out in front of him the culprit glinted up at him in the fading light.

It was a ring.

Tsuna blinked dumbly at it wondering if he was dreaming. After all one doesn't just trip over a ring like this one every day. He picked it up to examine it further. It was a beautiful silver color that seemed to glow with a life of its own. The main ring had a large X in the middle with the inscription _Vongola _on it in fancy letters. Bellow the X was the head of a lion and a small hoop that a chain was looped through connecting it to a small ring meant to be worn on another finger.

Tsuna nearly slipped it one before noticing how late it was getting. "Ahh Dinner!"

He shoved the ring in his pocket and jumped to his feet. He darted down the street turning the corner and jumping over objects in his way with a grace that someone labeled 'Dame' shouldn't have. He made to his house in record time and burst through the door panting and clutching his side were a stitch throbbed painfully.

"Mom, I'm so sorry I'm late. I lost track of time, and fell over twice! And…mom?"

The house was quiet. Almost scarily so. Tsuna gulped and backed up to the door wondering what was wrong. The house was always filled with some kind of noise, whether it was the radio, his mother humming or pots and pans being moved around in the kitchen. The only time it was silent in the house was when he father left…

Tsuna frowned and found the determination to move forward. Whatever was wrong he needed to help his mom. He slipped out of his shoes and edged his way down the hall stopping every few seconds to listen. He peaked into the living room and found nothing so he moved onto the kitchen.

He paused. There was his mother smiling happily as she was setting down a bowl of salad on the table. She didn't move. It was like she was frozen. Tsuna gulped.

"M Mom?"

"Sorry sweetie, she's a little… shall we say indisposed at the moment."

"HIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE." I spun around so fast it made me dizzy and looked at the new neighbor sitting calmly on the couch with a glass of water in her perfectly manicured hand.

She looked very pretty with her long red hair pulled in a ponytail, large blue eyes and flawlessly pale skin, but there was an air of danger about her that made Tsuna flinch and cower. She rubbed her ear a pained look crossing her features momentarily.

"My, that's quite the scream you've got there, nearly broke my glass. Tell me how does a fourteen year old boy get his voice up to such an octave?"

Tsuna opened and closed his mouth not knowing how to answer. He glanced back at his mom and steeled himself.

"W what did y you mean in indisposed?" He voice was painfully weak and his stutter was awful, but Tsuna was honestly terrified. This wasn't like all the times he was cornered by bullies. This women aura felt dark and menacing in a way that made Tsuna want to curl up in a ball and cry. He couldn't do that though; his mother was in danger. He had to do something.

The women smirked. "That's none of your business kid. Look, let's cut to the chase. I'm here for the stone. Give it to me and nobody gets hurt."

Tsuna cringed at her tone. "W what s stone?"

She frowned and stood up. "Oh come on, don't be stupid, I can sense it on you. Just give it to me."

"I I'm sorry, I d don't…"

"DON'T LIE TO ME!"

Tsuna whimpered as fury overcame her face. Her eyes flashed to black and he nearly had a heart-attack right there. This wasn't good. It wasn't good at all. He stared his eyes wide as a sinister knife appeared in her hand and she stood. The black metal glinted in the dim light and shadows seemed to leak from the blade.

The book he just bought slipped from his hand and he turned around and ran. He didn't bother trying to get his shoes on and instead dove for the door handle, yanking it open and slamming it behind him. Tsuna took off down the street hearing her heeled steps behind him the entire way. Tears welled up in his eyes as he ran. This couldn't be happening. This had to be some kind-of twisted nightmare.

He tried running harder. He didn't make it far, before he felt a cold chill cut through his back. Tsuna tried not to scream as a sharp pain tore through him and he fell from the force of the attacked. He felt his left shoulder dislocate as he hit the ground, and he held back scream. Tsuna had never gotten a serious injury before; sure he got bruises and cuts from his many bullies, but nothing really serious. Tears streamed down his face. He bit his lip until it bled as the same warm liquid leaked from the cut across his upper back. A small whimper escaped him. The pain was unbearable. He flinched at the sound of heals clinking to a stop beside him.

She tsked. "What a wimp. Now where is the stone?"

Tsuna looked up at her with tear filled eyes; all he saw was a blur of black and red. He shook his head. It took all his strength not to scream when he opened his mouth to reply. "I don't know what you're talking about."

She growled. "You lying little brat! I can sense it you know, now where is your weapon? Where is the stone?"

"I afraid he truly doesn't know what you're talking about my dear." A voice spoke up behind her.

She spun around to see who the new person was and Tsuna closed his eyes trying to fight back the oncoming unconsciousness, to no avail. He black out anyway. At first he felt like he was floating on a river, then water shifted and hardened underneath him and suddenly he was lying on a cold floor.

Tsuna opened his eyes, and found himself in a sunset colored crystal like room. The walls and ceiling looked like they were large pieces amber with flecks of bright orange. Light poured in from the outside. He looked down at the floor; it was the same as the walls. Next to him on the floor was the ring he found glittering brightly.

Tsuna woke up on his couch. He blinked up at the ceiling wondering if it was all a dream. Did he even leave the house?

"You're awake, good. I popped your shoulder back into place and healed your back so you shouldn't be in pain. Don't worry the woman ran away as soon as she saw me."

Tsuna glanced toward to his right to find the owner of the high pitched voice and blinked at the familiar baby sitting on the coffee table. He was too tired to let out his usually scream, but the surprise was still there. Was he still dreaming? The baby's large dark eyes were as blank as his expression, but Tsuna sensed that he was amused by the situation for whatever reason.

"Dame-Tsuna when somebody says they've helps you, you thank them." The baby was smirking now.

Tsuna sat up slowly. "How do you know that nickname?"

The child blinked innocently though his words were anything but innocent. "I was told there'd be a new recruit in this area. You were one of the potential candidates so naturally I learned everything about you and the other potential's to better understand the situation and I followed you when it was clear you were the one."

"You're the baby from the bookshop and the one who knocked me down on my way home."

"That is correct."

"You were watching the entire time."

It wasn't a question.

"That is correct, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna leaned back on the cushioned feeling terribly exhausted. "Why didn't you help sooner?"

"I was judging you."

"Your verdict?"

"Pathetic. Everything that I've found on you was correct. You're clumsy, a crybaby, a bad student, have a low self-esteem, never stand up for yourself, no stamina, no speed, no fighting capabilities at all, and you tend to try and run away from your problems instead of facing them head on."

With each accusation Tsuna winced and leaned further back until he was practically becoming one with the couch behind him.

"But there is potential like with any new recruit and with the right training you can become a good, strong member."

Tsuna looked at the strange baby in confusion and a little fear. "Who are you? I I'm sorry I don't know what's going on."

He reverted back to his usually self now that the shock was wearing off and he was starting to panic. What exactly was going on?! The baby's voice broke through his panicked thoughts and he calmed down somewhat now that he was getting answers.

"My name is Reborn. As for what's going on, let me ask you this. Did you find something today, something unusual? A stone perhaps?"

Tsuna frowned. 'What is with the stone obsession today?' He thought.

He paused, his hand unconsciously inching toward his pocket. "W well it's n not a stone, b but I did find this."

He pulled out the ring only to have is snatched away in a millisecond. Tsuna gaped at the speed the baby displayed. Reborn studied the ring for several minutes as Tsuna fidgeted wondering why he had the urged to snatch the ring back and hold it close. Reborn turned his eyes to him for a minute and Tsuna shivered feeling like he was being dissected slowly. Finally Reborn handed him back the ring and Tsuna sighed gratefully.

"Well that is unusual. Normally one finds a stone first then over a period of time, after the stone judges the soul of the person in question, it will change to a different form having accepted it new master."

Tsuna opened his mouth to ask a question, but Reborn held up his hand sufficiently silencing him.

"Right now is not the time or place to explain the whole situation, but to make it quick I'll say that there are countless dimensions parallel to this one and that woman is a part of a group that is currently gathering power and tipping the balance between these dimensions. I am a part of an organization that is combating them using the power from objects much like the one you are holding now. These weapons do considerable damage so you can image why she would want to get yours away from you before you learned how to use it. Do you understand?"

Tsuna shook his head and Reborn huffed in slight irritation.

"Dame-Tsuna the stone has chosen you igniting the flame deep within your soul. It has taken a form most comfortable to you and is now at you beck and call waiting for you to use it."

"Oh." Tsuna looked and the ring sitting innocently in his hand. When he spoke his voice was soft and sad. "Things won't go back to the way they were before will they?"

"No."

"What does it mean to be chosen?"

"It means you'll have to come with me to the headquarters so that you can be trained to use it and eventually enter combat with others against others like the women who attacked you."

"I don't have a choice do I?"

"No."

"What about…Mom!"

Tsuna jumped up and ran toward the kitchen. He couldn't believe he forgot about his mother! That was inexcusable. He stopped at the entrance adrenaline suddenly go as he stared at he still frozen figure. A weight appeared on his shoulder and he glanced at Reborn out of the corner of his eye a silent question in his chocolate orbs.

"She is frozen on a different plane of existence. I can undo the spell, but only after we leave. I could have gone after the woman when she ran, but you were my top priority since she managed to slice you with her shade weapon. She no doubt has informed her superiors what had happened and of your existence. We need to hurry and get you to headquarters."

"I can't even say goodbye?"

"…No."

"What will happen to her? Will I ever see her again?"

"You won't be able to come back here. It presents too much of a danger to them, however there will be people here keeping an eye on them for you. Her memory of you will be wiped and she continue living a normal live here in Namimori."

Tears welled up in his eyes, but he refused to cry. When he spoke his voice was choked with emotion.

"I see."

He looked at the ring in his hand again before slipping it on and turning away from his frozen mother.

"Do I need to bring anything?"

"No."

He nodded still holding back tears. "So what's this organization called?"

The baby smirked. "Vongola."

With that Reborn flicked his small hand and a portal appeared in front on them. Tsuna took a deep breath, closed his eyes and took a step forward. When he opened his eyes he was in a bright hallway of a completely different building….

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** This is so Long! My goodness! Anyway I hoped you liked it. Please tell me if you find any grammar/ spelling mistakes I don't have a beta so yeah... No excuse I know, but its late and I don't want to read through that whole thing again. Oh also, the book mention (The False Prince) is an actual book and its really good. It's written by Jennifer A. Nielsen and I would recommend it to any book lover out there. :) And if you want to read my original story that this is based off of then you can head to and search my user name, which is the same, the title of the story is also the same. **

**Well I bid you all goodbye, thank you for reading and please review! Reviews fuel my creative ideas and make me get off my lazy butt to write!**

**Edit 9/21/13: I just edited some of my grammar mistakes and typo's to make the story flow better. Don't worry I'm not dead I'll update soon I just need to finish ch. 13 and edit it then I'll update. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Declaimer: I still don't own it. :( **

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Reborn glanced at the new recruit out of the corner of his eye. Dame-Tsuna seemed to be trying very hard to hold back a shriek and not faint. It wasn't surprising. All new recruits had a hard time after they had been ripped, sometimes literally, from their family and home. It seemed like the weight of the situation had fully sunk in and he went deathly pale. Reborn watched with slight fascination as his eyes rolled back and the boy finally fainted. He jumped from his shoulder before the boy crumbled to the ground and was simply grateful Dame-Tsuna managed to hold in that awful scream of his.

He had been watching the boy for several days and had heard it countless times and was genuinely sick of it. He hoped the trainers would be able to beat the nasty habit out of him before everyone went deaf.

A group of people came running over to see what was wrong only to stop short at the site of him. He waved the off telling them to take the kid to the new recruit barracks and toss him in an empty room or bunk him with another if there wasn't any. They nodded quickly and scurried off with Dame-Tsuna, surprise still evident on their faces.

Reborn knew why, it was because he rarely ever went on missions to retrieve recruits. It was almost an insult really when considering his strength. However; the ninth asked for him specifically and who was Reborn to refuse his boss? Reborn tsk and started the long trek to the ninths office. He had to report his findings, he just hoped that fool Iemitsu wasn't there. He didn't want to tell the man that his son was now a part of the Vongola despite Iemitsu's attempts to keep his family, his son especially, out of it. The idiot would likely blame him and cause a ruckus.

This thought led him to the son in question. He frowned and tugged on his fedora, shadowing his eyes as he walked passed a group of people chatting loudly. Dame-Tsuna was an enigma and mystery that Reborn couldn't solve and that irked him. He was telling the truth when he called the boy all of those names, because he did see those traits or lack of them in the boy during the days he was watching him along with the other potentials. However, despite that the boy still managed to surprise him.

No one, outside of fully trained Vongola members, should have seen him in the bookshop talking to that infuriating meddler Kawahira. Nor should anyone outside of fully trained Vongola members see him when he pushed pasted the boy on the street. He was traveling on a different plane of existence to avoid unnecessary attention drawn to himself. Yet Dame-Tsuna did see him both times.

Not only that, but the boy's stone turned into Vongola Gear the moment he came in contact with it. Whereas normally it would take a week at least before changing and even then it would start off as a simple silver ring with the symbol of whatever flame the person had etched onto its surface before changing into Vongola Gear best suited for the owner. For the stone to make a decision that fast the boy had to be extremely strong and pure of heart. Which didn't match the observations he made of the boy. Which irritated him. Not to mention the fact because of this he didn't know what flame the boy held. Which irritated him even more. It was after all the job of the person picking up the new recruit to not only get them safely to the Vongola headquarters, but to also report to the boss what kind-of flame the recruit had. And Reborn did not like not being able to complete a mission.

Leon licked his cheek as if to comfort him and he patted his friend on the head while calming himself down. It was unbecoming for him of all people to be getting so riled up over the actions and odd traits of a fourteen year old boy. He sighed inaudibly and continued on his way. There was no point in dwelling on it. Iemitsu was a direct descendant of the Vongola Primo it was more than likely that the oddities surrounding the boy were in fact because of the blood running through his veins. Besides, it wouldn't matter to him anyway since he wasn't going to be involved with the boy any more. He brought Dame-Tsuna here and now the boy would be train to be a good member of the Vongola and possibly join the CEDEF like his father had, but Reborn would not be a part of his life from this point forward.

Despite his thoughts he still couldn't shake the feeling that he was completely wrong is this conclusion and though his gut feeling may not be as strong and the Hyper Intuition of the Vongola Primo it had saved his life more times than he could count. He frowned as he found himself in front of the Vongola Ninths office. He wasn't going to like the results of this meeting, but he raised his hand to knock anyway.

* * *

Tsuna groaned and rolled over on his side when he felt a gentle poke on his cheek.

"Five more minutes." He slurred in a sleepy voice.

"Haha sorry, but I think you should get up now you've been sleeping for an hour or more."

Tsuna frowned wondering why a stranger he didn't know was in his room and opened his eyes slowly only to find himself facing an unfamiliar wall. He blinked. Now that he thought about the mattress he was lying on felt different too, a little firmer than his one at home and the sheets were a little scratchier.

"Oh you must be confused. I know I was when I first woke up here. Ahaha" The stranger spoke again to his left. "You're in the new recruit…eh I think they call it barracks. It's where all of us newbies live until they train us to become full members of the Vongola."

_New Recruits? Barracks? Vongola? _

Tsuna's mind spun frantically as he tried to digest this information. Then it all hit him. The memories of what happened. He sat up slowly trying to get his breathing under control. It was no use…

"HHHHIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…"

His scream echoed throughout the headquarters before being brutally cut off by a fist to the head. Tsuna fell to the floor clutching his head while an angry silverette stood above him cursing about loud noises and pathetic roommates. The unruffled voice of a black haired boy tried to calm the angry one down as Tsuna regained his bearings.

He pushed himself into a sitting position and looked at the two boy's standing in front of him. The one who hit him had silver hair that reached pasted his ears, and a punk style of clothing and his angry scowl reminded the smaller boy of the bullies that picked on him. He winced and looked at the other boy. This one was obviously the owner of the voice that woke him up. He was tall with black hair and calming brown eyes that glittered in amusement at the ranting of the other boy.

Tsuna blinked wondering what he should do. The silver haired boy looked like he was ready to punch the black hair one.

"Uh, sorry for screaming. I j just remembered wh what happened. M My names Sawada Tsunayoshi, b but everyone j just calls me Tsuna." He squeaked slightly at the end when the silver haired boy turned his glare on him, but the other boy just scoffed and walked over to the other side of the room where a bunk bed jutted out from the wall.

"Ahaha Sorry about him. He's Gokudera Hayato and my names Yamamoto Takashi. It's nice to meet you!"

Tsuna smiled shying at the boy's large grin and they both ignored Gokudera's shout to not go giving his name out to everybody and their mother though Tsuna did wince a little at his tone.

Yamamoto smiled in understanding. "Don't worry about him he's always grumpy, but he has a good heart."

This comment cause Gokudera to spew out a bunch of curses mingled with the occasional baseball idiot which confused Tsuna, but he smiled at Yamamoto all the same. He was glad that there was at least one non-scary person here and Yamamoto seemed very nice.

"S so where exactly am I?" He questioned softly.

"Stupid, that baseball idiot already told you!" shouted Gokudera causing Tsuna to flinch.

Yamamoto waved his hands in the air in a calming manner.

"Ma ma calm done Gokudera, Tsuna was half asleep when I told him that, besides sense he's new here we should treat him nicely." He grinned before turning to Tsuna. "Well you're in the new recruit barracks. The three of us will be sharing a room here until we finish training."

Tsuna blinked and paled. "Training for what?"

"Who the hell brought you in?! Did they not tell you anything or are you a complete idiot!?"

Tsuna jerked back at the sound of Gokudera's shout, and looked at his lap while ringing his hands. His voice was soft and apologetic. "Sorry, I just…well I'm a little c confused right now. Everything h happened so fast and Reborn d did tell me s some things, b but I didn't really u understand. I think h he did say s something about c combat, but I just well I…."

He trailed off, not know how to say that he didn't like fighting and not sound weak and useless to them. He missed the surprised and slightly regretful look that crossed Gokudera's face and the sharp look that Yamamoto sent the silverette making him flinch. Yamamoto's smiled was regained a second later and he flopped down next to the smaller boy.

"Don't worry Tsuna you just got here right? No one's expecting you to know everything or even feel comfortable just yet. Gokudera's just a grump like I said earlier and tends to forget that not everyone knows as much or is as smart as him." He smiled when Tsuna lifted his head and peered up at him doubtfully. "I'll start with the basics. You have a stone, right? What do you know about them?"

Tsuna shook his head quietly and held up his hands show his ring to the two boys. "Uh a actually I never saw t the stone. It just found this after I tripped over it. Reborn s said it was unusual f for that to happen and that the s stone u usually spends time judging y your soul before changing shape. H He said something a about flames too…"

He glanced between the two boys as they gaped at him in shock wondering if he did or said something wrong.

"Impossible…" Gokudera breathed eventually.

"Ahaha Wow Tsuna, that's amazing!" Yamamoto held up his hand letting Tsuna see a small silver ring on his right hand with a droplet etched into it. "My is only in the second stage and I've had it for two weeks! Gokudera's is in Vongola Gear form, but he's had his for a month now so that's no surprise."

Tsuna blushed slightly at Yamamoto's complement and thanked him quietly. Gokudera seemed to be in shock.

Yamamoto laughed off his thanks and proceeded to explain or at least tried too. "Well you see the stones are manifestations of power and their attracted or something to the power in some people's soul that's called flames. There are seven types of flames people can have, Rain, Storm, Lightning, Mist, Sun, Cloud and Sky. Mine's rain by the way. Anyway I wasn't really listening, but the stones reacts to the flames and activates, I guess, causing…."

"Would you shut-up!" Gokudera had apparently snapped out of his shock and was looking angrier than ever. "You're just going to confuse him further with your wish-washy explanation!"

"Eh? Really? Tsuna did my explanation confuse you?"

The look on Tsuna's face was all the answer they needed. Yamamoto laughed and apologized and Gokudera surprisingly started to explain.

"Okay so first and for most do you know what type of flames you have?" When Tsuna shook his head, he nodded. "That's understandable considering you didn't even see the stone. Okay so each stone is a different color representing the different flames. For example, blue is for Rain flames, red is for Storm, green is for Lightning, indigo is for Mist, yellow is for Sun, purple is for cloud, and orange is for Sky. Now as for what the stones are, Baseball idiot over there had it wrong, they're not manifestations of power they are pure power simple as that. They are formed in the heat of a dying star and spread across the universe when the star explodes. One star could contain thousands of them. While the star's explosion gives them the start they needed afterwards they follow the pull of the dormant flames inside humans and every cross dimensions to get to people like the three of us and the rest of the Vongola and other existing factions that fight for the same cause. Do you understand so far?"

Tsuna nodded slowly as the new information started to make sense.

"Good. Now the flames I keep referring to are called Dying Will Flames and they are a high density form of energy that is refined from one's own life-force or soul. Not everyone has them, and even those who did could live their entire life without realizing it because aside from a few rare cases these flames cannot be called forth on one's own. This is where the stones come in. The stones can draw forth the flames and allow the owner to control and use them to fight if the person in question has the resolve. If you cannot muster the resolve to fight or heal in the case of the sun flames then the stone is useless and you're as good as dead, but that's beside the point. The stones scatter across the universe, dimensions and time searching for the person with a matching flame. Sometimes they never make it, but when they do they will begin the process of tying themselves to the person's soul commonly known as judging. When they become linked the stone will slowly change form starting out as a simple silver ring like the one the Baseball idiot showed you before turning into what is commonly known as Vongola Gear. That should be good for based knowledge. Any questions?"

Tsuna looked down at the ring on his hand. "Do they all have Vongola etched into them, and why?"

"Yes, but it's unknown as to why the name Vongola was etched into these stone. The Vongola organization got its name from that though."

"I see." Tsuna smiled up at Gokudera. "Thank you, Gokudera-san you're a great teacher."

Gokudera turned his head away blushing at the bright smile from the smaller boy as Yamamoto laughed. Yamamoto stood and helped Tsuna to his feet.

"Ahaha now everything makes sense. Thanks Gokudera! Now I think we should…"

He was cut off by the sound of a knock. Three eyes turned to the door as it opened slowly.

* * *

Reborn stepped into the room and his eyes were immediately drawn to the stacks of paper work on the desk. He eyed them warily for a moment before turning his attention to his boss standing by the window.

"Greetings Ninth, I've brought the boy to headquarters as you instructed."

The elderly man nodded, and Reborn took the incentive to give the man a full report leaving out no details. After he was done the ninth sighed and move over to the couch to sit. For a long moment nothing was said until Timoteo broke the silence.

"Reborn you are aware of my current lack of an heir, correct?"

Reborn though back to the deaths of all of the man's son's and nodded slowing already dreading where this was going.

"Xanxus is not fit for the job, and Iemitsu is determined to stay head of the CEDEF. My sons are dead Reborn and I am an old man. I need a heir."

"Surely there must be someone else? I've told you all of the boy's failings"

The older man shook his head. "You've also told me about several interesting things about him and he is a direct decedent of the Vongola Primo. Who better to be the Vongola Decimo?"

"They boy's has some oddities about him for sure, but are you certain Ninth? He is only fourteen years old? Not to mention the fact that we don't even know if he has a sky flame since it changed so fast."

"Those are valid reasons, but are enemies grow in power everyday while I only weaken. We need to act. Perhaps we can come to an agreement? Watch the boy for me. Observe his actions and when he ignites his flame then come to me immediately. If it is sky then we will have another talk. If it is not then we'll have to keep searching. Trust me Reborn I do not want a child to have to carry this burden much less Iemitsu's only son. He had already asked me to keep his family out of this business." Timoteo sighed and rubbed his forehead

Reborn tugged on his fedora. "Alright Ninth. I understand the weight of this situation. I will not fail you."

Timoteo smiled at the man in a baby's guise then stood up. "Well let's go see this young man. I haven't met Iemitsu's son, but he goes on about the boy as if he could walk on water." He chuckled and Reborn smirked.

"You just want to get out of doing paper work."

"Humor an old man, would you?"

* * *

** Right so you got some insight into Reborn's mind. I'm honestly not sure how I did with that. Reborn is a hard character to write, but hopefully I did it well enough. Anyway I just couldn't shake the thought that Reborn would be annoyed at Tsuna's inconsistencies you know? In any case Yamamoto and Gokudera were introduced! Yay! Haha those guys were fairly easy to write. Also how'd you like Gokudera's explanation? I spent a lot of time on that (which is why this is being posted so late) trying to work out kinks and future plot holes so I hope it makes sense. If not I don't mind explaining it more. :) **

**Now onto reviews~**

**_Guest~_ Thank-you I'm glad you find it interesting. I hope you continue reading it to see. :) **

**_Great~_ Thank you I'm glad you find it interesting, and the reason for the Vongola Gear is in this chapter. And y****es, poor Tsuna and Nana as well, but she'd be in danger other wise. **

******On another note, Wow 101 views on the first day of it being posted. I feel so loved. :) Please review, I love hearing you guy's opinions. **

******Edit 9/21/13- I think I'm going to go ahead and edit all the chapters today. It's not only allowing me to correct some stupid mistakes, but helping me get back into the writing mood for this story. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay first and foremost I would like to say thank you to all of the reviewers. I'll thank you guys personally at the end, but I just wanted to make a general shout out here. You guys are awesome. :) I was going to wait a bit and write this chapter over the span of a couple of days, but your reviews inspired me to finished this chapter today. Thanks also to those people who Favorited and alerted this story. Your awesome too. :)**

**Declaimer:**** I wish I owned KHR, but I unfortunatly don't.**

* * *

Timoteo glanced at his smaller companion; it was amusing to see the always composed Arcobaleno get upset over a fourteen year old boy. He could understand why after listening to his report, but it was still amusing all the same. Reborn prided himself on knowing everything about everyone and for him to find a person, a child of all things, he couldn't figure out made Timoteo want to laugh. He wouldn't of course. It wouldn't be proper for a boss to laugh at his subordinates even if the subordinate in question was a good friend.

He waved at the people they passed as they bowed in respect. He smiled and gazed at all of them fondly. He truly loved the Vongola. It was a shining beacon in the ever growing darkness. With missions completed, worlds save, and new recruits coming in everyday it made him wonder if he was making the right choice in forcing a young boy to become the next boss. Yet even with all of the good being done by his subordinates he still couldn't shake the feeling that danger was lurking just around the corner. He couldn't help, but feel that these peaceful days would be ending and their enemies were mounting in power while despite appearances the Vongola were getting weaker. He blamed himself for this.

Every time he turned around the recruits were getting younger and he had to extend the training period because he did not want to send children into battle. Yet here he was talking about the future of a young boy who just lost everything, knowing for a fact that becoming the Vongola Decimo will require him to fight and soon.

He had no choice in the matter. The Vongola can first. The good of all the dimensions came first. It was already known that their enemies were not above using children. Just the other day his lightning guardian came back with footage from and abandoned laboratory. It showed brutal experimentation done on children, some no older than three. He didn't want to stoop that low, but he was getting desperate. They needed someone strong to lead the Vongola. Perhaps Tsunayoshi, a decedent of the Vongola Primo, will be that leader. He didn't have a doubt that the boy had sky flame, and hopefully Reborn could train him to be worthy of being a boss.

He could only hope he made the right choice.

They exited the main building and crossed the courtyard to the new recruit barrack and asked the lady at the front desk where they would find the younger Sawada. She told the room number and they continued on their way passing a few other new recruit as well. Timoteo almost paused in his step when they passed three teenagers; the one in the middle had the oddest hairstyle. It looked like a pineapple, but that wasn't what caught his attention. It was the aura that boy held. He forced himself not to react, as the children exited through the front doors.

"Reborn."

"I know."

He nodded knowing that Reborn would keep an eye on the boy for him and report any oddities.

They climbed the stair to the third story and found room 127 without any other problem. Timoteo hesitated slightly before knocking and opening the door. There was no turning back now. He had made his choice.

He paused and allowed himself to observe the room before looking at the three boys. It was boxed shaped, but not small. He had wanted all the room to be a comfortable size for the occupants since most had been taken, sometimes forcefully, from their family and home. On the left from the door was a bunk bed jutting out from the wall their sheets neatly folded. In the space between the bunk and the wall was a tall dresser. The right wall was situated in the same manner, but instead of a dresser there was a door for a small closet. The wall across from the door had a large window seat with a view of the forest behind the Vongola Manor, drawers for extra storage. In the middle of the room was a low table were the roommates could sit together while playing games or doing homework. There were six light blue cushions for them to sit on at the table. The carpet was a light tan and the walls were white. The comforters were the same blue as the cushions on the floor, the sheets and pillows were white.

After noticing all of this his eyes landed on the three boys by the bunks to the right of the door. Two were sitting while the other was standing. He observed the standing one first. The silver hair, green-gray eyes and punk clothing were a dead giveaway to the boy's identity. Gokudera Hayato had only been here for little over a month and had already earned the name Smokin' Bomb Hayato due to his choice of weapons and known temper. Though the teachers hated him for his unruly attitude they had emitted quietly to him that the boy was a genius in his own right. He didn't know the boy's sister personally, but the young women had made a name for herself through her cooking and hadn't failed a mission for him yet. He had the flame of storm and Timoteo expected the boy would flourish as soon as he found something to fight for, and got control of the temper.

The black haired boy sitting next to Tsunayoshi was another he recognized. Yamamoto Takashi looked exactly like his father when he was young and from the report had the same personality as well. He was glad the old swordsman was doing well for himself even though he had quit the Vongola years ago. He was glad the man had let his son come to them to train especially considering the excellent reports from the boy. He may not be the brightest as far as book knowledge goes, but he was a natural fighter. Timoteo knew the boy would become a strong swordsman like his father some day and looked forward to it.

Finally he turned his gaze upon the smallest boy among the three and almost raised his eyebrow in surprise. The boy didn't look a thing like his father; instead, it was like looking at a younger Giotto with brown hair and eyes. Reborn had told him about the strange resemblance, but he didn't realize how close it was. He watched at the boys shifted nervously. Everything about him shouted out painful shyness and lack of confidence, yet despite that Timoteo was pleasantly surprised when it was the boy that broke the silence first.

"Umm, H hello Re Reborn. Is t there something y you n needed? Whose y your companion?"

Tsunayoshi's large innocent eyes shifted between the baby and himself as he spoke and Timoteo felt a pang in his heart. Because of him those eyes wouldn't remain innocent for long. He pushed those thoughts away and instead chuckled as Gokudera splutter at Tsunayoshi's lack of knowledge and Yamamoto laughed.

"Dame-Tsuna…" Reborn looked like he was going to scold the boy, but Timoteo cut him off.

"Hello, Sawada Tsunayoshi. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name Timoteo, however most know me as Ninth. I am the Vongola Nono, or the Ninth boss of the Vongola."

He leaned on his scepter and he watched the boy blink in surprise then go pale. Gokudera bowed in respect, while Yamamoto stood and bowed as well, nudging Tsunayoshi to do the same. He got the hint and stood up clumsily and gave a sloppy bow. It was obviously his first time doing this sort of thing. Timoteo found it endearing, cute almost, but he could tell Reborn and Gokudera were irritated.

"Uh I…it's n nice t to meet you, s sir." He fidgeted and Timoteo saw Reborn twitch in annoyance.

"You're probably wondering why I'm here. I'm sorry to surprise you, but I just wanted to see the son of one of my most trusted advisers, and leader of the CEDEF. I also heard something interesting from Reborn. The fact that your stone change immediately into Vongola Gear. May I see it, Tsunayoshi?"

The boy nodded shying and held out his hand. Timoteo took it and examined the ring. It was almost fate that the main design what that of an 'X'. 'X' for Decimo he thought to himself. He could feel the power in the ring and wondered what kind-of weapon it would turn into. Ironically the first one that came to mind was gloves….

He let go of the boys hand and smiled at him in a grandfatherly way. "How very interesting. You know they say that the Vongola Primo's stone did the same thing, though it's not proven. I expect great things from you, Tsunayoshi." He turned his eyed to the other boys. "I expect the same from the two of you as well, is that understood Gokudera Hayato and Yamamoto Takashi?"

The two nodded looking very proud at the fact that they were addressed directly by him and he held back a chuckle. He nodded to them and turned to leave.

"Tsuna."

He froze and looked back at the shy boy, who had nearly shouted in a high voice. He had his eyes shut and his hands balled into fists at his sides. The boy opened his eyes and for a moment Timoteo thought he saw a flash of orange.

"Please call me Tsuna." His voice was softer than before and Timoteo smiled his face relaxing in a gentle expression.

"Alright, if that's what you want, Tsuna."

The smiled received in returned was blindingly happy for such a simple thing and Timoteo felt his heart throb painfully. If only Tsuna knew what he was planning for him. He wouldn't smile as kindly; he knew that for a fact. He forced himself to smile at those trusting eye and opened the door.

"Goodbye, Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto."

He received loud goodbye's in return from the taller too and a quiet 'Goodbye sir.' from Tsuna. Once the door was shut he sighed heavily and leaned on his scepter more slouching in a way that was unfitting of a Vongola boss.

"Ninth?"

He started walking slowly down the hallway when Reborn's worried voice cut through his guilty haze.

"I've made my decision Reborn. It's for the good of the Vongola and all the dimension's we protect. The boy is not confident and painfully shy. It's obvious that he hasn't had any friends and has a low opinion of himself, but he has potential. Watch him until his flames ignite then we'll talk about how to go about training him along with any other observations you noticed about him."

"Yes, sir."

If Reborn noticed the slight pain in Timoteos' voice he didn't say anything, for which he was grateful.

* * *

Tsuna swallowed thickly when the elderly man left. He wasn't sure what made him ask the man to call him by his nickname. He really liked the old man and could tell he was a good person. It just felt wrong to be called Tsunayoshi by someone who looks like a kind grandfather and he couldn't help himself. He half expected to be scolded, but the man smiled and agreed. He wondered if his grandfather was like that. His wished he knew him to find out, but both his mother's parents had died in a plane crash when she was a teenager and he knew next to nothing about his father, much less his father's parents.

This thought led him to another, less than enjoyable thought. He father, from what the Ninth said, was here. He was a member of the Vongola and leader of the CEDEF whatever that was. Was that why he left and never came back? Leaving his mother and him alone? Another thought came to him. Was the reason his mother never spoke of him or acknowledged his existence because she didn't remember him? When he was younger he had often wondered why his mother did talk about him like she used to and when he'd asked she'd act like she didn't understand or simply didn't hear. The lack of pictures, or any of his possessions suddenly made sense.

This realization brought on a mountain of guilt and a mix of other feelings he couldn't untangle. He had come to resent his father a little bit over the years for leaving them, but he must have done it to protect them. Just like he did today, by leaving his mother and home behind to join the Vongola. He felt tears well in his eyes.

"Tsuna? You've been standing there staring intently at the door for a while now. Are you okay?"

Yamamoto's worried voice cut through his thoughts and he spun around with wide eyes as tear slipped down his cheeks.

"Ah Yamamoto-san! S sorry! I, uh, w well…its c complicated." His voice dropped to a whisper at the end.

He scrubbed at his cheeks not wanting the two of them to think he was a crybaby. Gokudera was a little scary, but he still liked the both of them and he didn't want to burden them with his worries.

Yamamoto frowned and shared a look with Gokudera who was trying not to look worried. He stepped forward and caught Tsuna's arms gently stopping him form scrubbing his face so roughly.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He smiled encouragingly when Tsuna looked up at him in surprise.

Tsuna looked down again. "It's n nothing."

"It's obviously not nothing if your crying about it! Stop being a wimp!" Gokudera's annoyed voice make Tsuna jump and cringe.

"Hiieee!"

"Ahaha Gokudera don't be mean." Yamamoto's smiled at the silverette behind him before turning back to Tsuna. "He's right you know. I understand if you don't want to talk about it we are after all strangers. But we're also roommates and I think we should get along. If you want to talk about it later then let us know and I'm sure both Gokudera and I will be willing to listen."

Tsuna gave a small nod and smiled slightly at the two of them. "Thanks. I…I not really…um"

"Haha don't worry about Tsuna. Just tell us when your ready."

Yamamoto grinned and Gokudera tsked and looked away mutter about how the Baseball Idiot shouldn't decide things for him. Tsuna's smiled widened.

"Oh yeah and please don't call me Yamamoto-san. Haha That's my father! Just call me Takashi!"

"Eh?! I couldn't do that!"

"Hahaha why not?"

It was only after Yamamoto suggested that they show him around and they were half way down the hall did Tsuna realize that he wasn't upset anymore. He had a bad habit of stewing over things and making himself more upset the longer he thought about and being unable to stop thinking about it. He would be distressed for hour's sometimes even days. But with a few words and a promise to listen he was actually happy again.

He also realized that his was the first time he was happy to be around other people his own age. He smiled and glanced at his new roommates while they argued over something trivial. He had left his home and mother behind, and he might not be able to see either again, but right now he was happy. The two of them were almost like…friends. His smile brightened. In just a few hours of being here, he had friends for the first time.

"What are you smiling about?!"

"Hieee! S sorry Gokudera-san!"

"What the hell is this 'san' bull?! Your calling the Baseball Idiot just Yamamoto now, but still using 'san' with me?!"

"S sorry!"

"Haha Is Gokudera jealous?"

"Of that weakling?! Hell no!"

"Hiieeee!"

Later that night after all was said in done Tsuna curled up in bed and smiled glad that he had met the other two boys. They had shown his the front desk where the receptionist greeted him kindly, the training rooms where another recruit was systematically destroying a bunch of dummies. Tsuna made a mental note to stay away from the tonfa wielding teen. They stopped by the cafeteria to get some dinner and Tsuna was embarrassed as the cooks kept trying to give him more food saying he was to skinny and needed more meat on his bones. They met a boy who shouted everything and added TO THE EXTREME at the end of every sentence. Gokudera hated him, but Tsuna thought he was very nice even if he did try and challenge him to a boxing match every five minute. By the end of the conversation Sasagawa Ryohei had Tsuna calling him Onii-san without even realizing it, much to the amusement of Yamamoto. He got a little scared when Gokudera started pulling out dynamite, but not body got hurt so he breathed a sigh of relief.

By the time they finished dinner it was getting late and Tsuna was tired. He still found it hard to believe that while it had been nearly night when he left Namimori if was only 2 pm when he arrived here. Yamamoto suggested going to see everything outside the new recruit barrack tomorrow after classes.

He closed his eyes and sighed.

"My father."

Neither of the other two boys replied, but he could tell they were listening.

"I was crying because all this time I had been resenting my father for leaving my mom and me, he had been here. I realized that he had left to protect us. And…well I don't know how I feel about that. I want to still resent him, but that'd be hypocritical since I just did the same thing to my mother. I just…I don't know."

"I'm sorry I don't really know how that feels. My dad used to be part of the Vongola, but he left when my mom died in order to take care of me. I think that maybe you should talk to you dad about it. You know to set the record straight."

Tsuna smiled slightly at Yamamoto's advice. He was right he should talk to his dad.

"Tsk, what I want to know is why you remember him at all. Everyone who ever came in contact with the new recruit in question has to have their memory wiped. No exceptions."

The three of them remain quiet for a long time after that wondering about the implications. Tsuna tried to remember anything that could give him a clue as to why his memory wasn't wiped to no avail.

"I suppose we could ask about that tomorrow." Yamamoto finally spoke up. "In any case, I'm glad you told us Tsuna. It's good to get things off your chest, right Gokudera?"

"Tsk, whatever it's not like I care."

"Haha you're so mean."

Tsuna smiled sleepily as they bickered back and forth for a while before drifting off completely.

* * *

Iemitsu's whole world suddenly came to a stop as the Ninth explained the situation to him.

"WHAT?! MY SON IS HERE?!"

* * *

** Alrighty so I'm getting into the habit of writing these chapter with over three thousand words. It takes a bit longer, but I kind-of like it. How about you guys? In any case we get Timoteo's pov this chapter. He was another hard character to write. I tried to make him kind-of world weary. Someone who doesn't want to get children involved, but understands the need to. He doesn't want to force this burden on Tsuna, in fact it's tearing him up inside, but he knows it for the best of the Vongola. I'm not sure how I did with that, eh oh well. **

** Also we get a little Tsuna angst, cause it's not a true khr fic about Tsuna without a little Tsuna angst. Haha just kidding. But he is upset over his fathers decision. Which honestly is a tough one that is argued about a lot in fanfictions. He's often bashed, but I didn't want to do that here. It would've been very easy to do that, but I want to address my own opinion on the matter. Which is the fact that he, like Timoteo, is choosing the greater good over his own selfish desire to remain with his family or put them in danger with the knowledge of his work. This will be address in the next chapter so don't worry it'll get resolved quickly for those of you who don't like him or don't like angsty Tsuna. **

**Anywho...Reviews! Hehe**

_**Redthorn13~**_**Thank you I was uncertain on how I portrayed him and honestly while re-watching the series it looked to me like all those nasty things he did to Tsuna at the beginning were kind-of out of spite for him being such a wimp. Maybe I'm reading to much into it, but I couldn't shake that feeling you know? Don't worry I will explain a little more in the next chapter. And yes there will be more meetings with the other guardians as they all train. I'm sure you noticed them popping up here and their in this chapter, but I didn't touch on them very much. They'll be more involved in the next few chapter, in fact I'm thinking about have several chapters dedicated to their individual interactions with Tsuna. As for Hibari well...haha those poor dummies. Thank for the review! I hope you remain interested! :)**

_**Bleach-ed-Na-tsu~**_** Thanks for the review, I'm glad you find it interesting. :) Haha I hope you aren't disappointed with Timetoe's pov in this chapter! And thanks for calling me awesome, that made me sqee excitedly.**

_**Great~**_**Thanks for reviewing! Any yeah I agree with you on Reborn, it's like I told RedThorn13 I think he was so mean at the beginning out of spite. He doesn't ever stop being mean, but it has a more affectionate feel later on in the series. I'm glad you thought the explanation was easy I tried real hard not to make it to complicated but it's difficult since its a cross-over and I have to incorporate khr stuff into my original idea of how it all works. As for Giotto I don't really have plans for him appear other than in the occasion flashback or in spirit form later like in the anime, sorry. Maybe at some point I'll do a small prequel about how the Primo and his gang created the Vongola in this world, but I'd have to finish this story first haha. Tsuna and his wimpyness goes hand and hand, but he will get better I promise.**

**_Airal~_ Thanks for the review! Yay I kind-of figured there'd be typo's, but I was to lazy to go back and fix them. Terrible I know, but still. Haha But I did go back and fix the mix up in the mist and cloud flames. That was a total mess-up on my part, sorry about that. Thanks for pointing it out. For some reason I got it into my head that they were swapped. Oops. Thanks for following! haha**

**Wow that was a large authors note. I kind-of got carried away. Haha sorry. Anyway, Please review!**

**Edit 9/21/13- You know some of these mistakes are making thump my head against my desk wondering how I managed not to notice them...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay when I first check my account this morning you know how fanfiction shows you the traffic states? Well when I looked at it this morning it was at 27 and I had a little fangirl moment. Haha I'm weird. **

**Declaimer****: Sorry, don't own it. **

* * *

Tsuna was a nervous wreck come morning. He was worried about the classed Yamamoto and Gokudera told him about. He was worried about seeing his father. He was worried about training. About fighting. He was worried about how worried he was and the while Yamamoto tried to calm him down. It got to the point where Gokudera yelled at him telling him to shut-up and calm down or he'll blow him up.

Needless to say Tsuna calmed down after that too scared to worry anymore and Yamamoto laughed.

He was surprise when there were cloths that actually fit him in the closet and Yamamoto explain that a maid brought them while he was unconscious. Tsuna wondered how exactly they knew his exact size, but decided for his own sanity he wouldn't dwell on it. There were some normal jeans, cargo pants, a plethora of tee-shirts, and a couple of jackets. He even had a couple of pairs of tennis shoes! What caught his attention however was the black suit. He glanced at Yamamoto and Gokudera's portion of the closet and noticed they had one to.

He decided to ask Yamamoto later since he had already left to go to the bathroom and brush his teeth with Gokudera. He quickly pulled on some jeans and a white tee-shirt, the orange and white hoody and a pair of orange and white tennis shoes. He darted down the hall to where Yamamoto told him was the bathroom only to run into someone coming out of their room.

"Hiee! Sorry!"

"Kufufu Look Ken, Chikusa it's a little orange mouse."

Tsuna looked up at the person he ran into in surprise. He was taller than Tsuna, most people were, he had blue hair in an odd style and sharp eyes. He couldn't quite figure why the style seemed familiar, but it did. His presence made Tsuna shiver in fear. It took Tsuna a moment to realize what the other boy said.

"M Mouse!"

"He's even squeaking, Mukuro-sama." The dry observation came from another boy standing next to the first.

"Whatever, just get out of the way, idiot!" A blond haired boy shout at him.

"Hiiee!" Tsuna wasted no time in running the rest of the way down the hallway and into the bathroom slamming the door behind him.

The boy's already in the bathroom jumped in surprise. Tsuna leaned against the door for a minute trying to catch his breath. Something wasn't right about the boy he just ran into. He didn't even do anything and yet his presence made Tsuna shudder. He heard the other boy's ask his if he was okay and Yamamoto put his hand on his shoulder, but he could only think of one thing. He finally remembered what the scary boy's hair style reminded him of.

"P Pineapple."

There was a pause, where the other new recruits tried to put together what in the world he meant before one guy burst out laughing.

"Oh! He met Mukuro!"

There were chuckles and shudders from the rest of the crowd and they when back to getting ready for class. Yamamoto laughed and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry Tsuna. Mukuro scares everyone, well except for Hibari, but that's a different matter altogether. Come one I got you a tooth brush. Gokudera already left for we should hurry if we want to eat with him."

Tsuna smiled shakily at him and allow the taller boy to lead him towards the sinks. They exited the bathroom and made their way down the stairs. Tsuna only tripped once and even then Yamamoto caught him before he rolled down the steps. Tsuna was embarrassed, but Yamamoto laughed it off like he seemed to do about most things.

After they had gone through the line to get some breakfast Tsuna was bright red from all of the ladies comments about him. They apparently found him adorable and gave him twice as much food as the rest of the recruits. Yamamoto's and the other people in the line chuckled the entire way at his distress.

Tsuna was thankful when they started looking for Gokudera in the vast room. He glanced around. It was way more crowded than last night. He frowned, most of them didn't look much older than him, and some looked even younger! The oldest people he saw in the room were a small group of adult's who didn't look a day passed thirty.

"Uh Yamamoto? Are all new recruits so young?"

Yamamoto blinked in surprise at the sudden question. Then smiled in understanding.

"My dad says they've been get younger and younger lately. When he was a new recruit he was the youngest at about 24." He shrugged. "My dad calls it the new generation. A wave of young people ready for change."

Tsuna smiled. "B but didn't y your dad leave the Vongola?"

"Yeah, but he still has friends here and they keep him in touch."

"Oh.." Tsuna thought Yamamoto's dad sounded really cool. He'd like to meet him someday.

"Oh look there's Gokudera!"

The two of them made their way over to the solitary teen quickly and sat down. Gokudera scowled at them.

"What are you punks doing here? Get lost!"

Tsuna blinked. Was it him or did Gokudera sound harsher than normal. "E eh? D don't you g guy's normally s sit together?"

Yamamoto laughed sheepishly. "Haha No actually. I normally sit with another group. In fact we don't really interact at all during the day."

Tsuna tilted his head in a silent question and Yamamoto answered immediately.

"I thought you'd feel more comfortable sitting together since we're your roommates, but it looks like Gokudera doesn't appreciate the company."

Yamamoto stood pulling Tsuna up with him. "Come on Tsuna, let's go sit somewhere else."

Tsuna blinked and looked at the scowling Gokudera. Did he always sit alone? He remembered all the times he sat alone in the lunch room at school and sat back down. It wasn't fun to always be alone. Gokudera glared at him and Tsuna gulped, but didn't move.

"B being along isn't f fun. R right G Gokudera-kun?" his voice was soft, but he stared determinedly into Gokudera's shocked eyes.

The silver haired boy blinked. Once. Twice. Then turned his head and tsked.

"Whatever."

"Haha okay!" Yamamoto sat back down.

Yamamoto chatted as they continued to eat, and Tsuna learned that he used to be on the baseball team at his middle school. He didn't doubt that the happy boy was very popular.

"D don't y you m miss you friend?" He asked quietly.

Yamamoto froze and Tsuna apologized quickly.

"Ahaha It's okay, you don't need to say sorry I was just surprised that's all." Yamamoto's smiled stretched wider, but it didn't look right to Tsuna.

"Truth be told I wasn't close to many of them. Haha So…." He trailed off laughing and scratching the back of his head.

Tsuna frowned.

"But Tsuna's so sweet I bet he had lots of close friends. Right?"

He blinked. "A n no. Y you guys a are the f first f friends I've e ever had."

Silence met this statement, before Gokudera frowned.

"I'm not your friend, stupid. Don't think of me as such. I don't make friends with weaklings."

"Ahaha Gokudera that's cruel." Yamamoto turned to Tsuna. "That was a joke right? Haha Tsuna can be funny."

Tsuna frowned. There was that strange smile and laugh again. It looked fine, in fact there was no signs that made it seem abnormal, but Tsuna didn't think it fit Yamamoto. It looked strained, almost fake to Tsuna's eyes.

"What's up Tsuna? Haha You've been staring at me weirdly."

Tsuna opened his mouth to say nothing, but that wasn't what came out.

"Yamamoto if you don't want to smile or laugh then you shouldn't. It makes me worried when you do that."

Yamamoto gaped at him, while Gokudera stared. Finally Gokudera snorted, and then chuckled.

"Ha. He got you Baseball Idiot. And here I was thinking I was the only one who noticed!"

Tsuna gasped and his hands covered his mouth. What was he saying! "S sorry Yamamoto I didn't mean to say that! Oh now I look like an idiot!"

He ducked his head waiting for Yamamoto to yell at him for saying weird things. He had just started to hope that the three of them would become good friends. He was so stupid! Gokudera was still chuckling and Tsuna couldn't understand why.

He felt a hand pat him on the head. "Haha Tsuna isn't an idiot at all. He's very perceptive."

Tsuna looked up at Yamamoto. He blinked. The other boy was smiling, but it didn't seem wrong. In fact he got the feeling that this was the first true smile he's seen out of him.

Yamamoto patted his head one more time before getting up. "Come on, we should head to the classroom. Haha Hibari will bite us to death if we're late."

Tsuna didn't even want to ask about the last sentence and instead smiled shying at the former baseball player. Gokudera stood too.

"Tsk. I'd like to see him try."

"Haha you shouldn't say that Gokudera."

Tsuna smiled as the three of them left the cafeteria putting their trays at the designated spot on the way out. Yamamoto seemed happier for that he was glad. Though he couldn't image why.

As they walked down the halls Tsuna began to wonder about the way the classes were set up. What exactly was the curriculum? He wondered if it was like his old school. Would he have to be separated from the other two? He shared his concerns and Yamamoto laughed, while Gokudera answered.

"The classes are separated by floors and age groups. For core classes like math, science, history, and language we are separate by age and floor so that the amount of student in each class isn't too much for the teacher to handle. However, for other things it's different. For example Physical Training is just separated by floors. You'll be with me in Weapons Training since you and I both have Vongola Gear while Baseball Idiot over there will be in a different class since his hasn't activated yet."

"Eh?! We'll still be taking normal classes?" Tsuna thought the classes would be different since, well he didn't know why.

Gokudera smirked. "Yeah, back in the day when the new recruits were older, they didn't have them, but now that we're all so young the Ninth decided we needed to continue our education as well. Though the classes themselves only teach the basic practical things instead of going into depth. History is more focused on the history of the Vongola. There are other classes too. This morning we have a class designated to teaching us about our stones. After that we have 'Know your Enemies' or KYE for short that is solely based on the history and tactics as well as weapons of the Quae Perierat."

"Quae Perierat?"

"No stupid! They're the organization the Vongola is fighting against. It's _Quae, _as in why with a Q instead of a W and _Perierat_ as in _Per-ier-a. _The T is silent. Honestly don't you know Latin?"

"Haha few people do Gokudera. Don't be so harsh on Tsuna."

"S sorry I only know J Japanese." Tsuna paused. "W wait, how is it nearly e everyone kn knows Japanese here?"

It couldn't be that common could it? Not to mention Gokudera didn't really look Japanese. Neither did the Ninth for that matter.

Gokudera rolled his eyes. "No they're not. They're all speaking the language of their homeland. I'm speaking Italian right now. We're able to understand each other because of the stones. They translate any foreign language subconsciously for their user. Did you honestly think all these people, some who are from dimensions where Japan doesn't even exist, were speaking Japanese?"

Tsuna didn't want to answer that question.

"Haha Don't worry Tsuna I was confuse at first too!" He wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "I'm from Japan too. I was born in Nanamori, how about you?"

Tsuna blinked. "Eh? Me too."

Yamamoto laughed. "Really, I wonder why we didn't run into each other."

"It's obvious isn't it? You too were living in two different dimensions. There are trillions upon trillions of them out their all stacked on top of one another. A single change in one dimension creates a completely new one…."

Tsuna got a little dizzy when Gokudera started going in to details and turned to Yamamoto for help who simply shrugged. They walked out of the Barracks and toward a separate building that Yamamoto said was the set aside to teach new recruits. Tsuna thought it should just be called the school and Yamamoto agreed, but Gokudera got huffy saying that's not what it was called. Tsuna didn't know what else you'd call it though. It was a lot fancier than all the school he'd seen, but it served the same purpose.

When they entered the classroom they were a little early. Yamamoto introduced him to the teacher, a sweet looking lady with large blue eyes and frizzy brown hair, who gave him a packet for beginners so he could catch up with the rest of the class. She told them that there wasn't any seating chart, but if they disrupted the class she would move them immediately, no excuses. Tsuna smiled at her and nodded. The three of them moved to sit at one of the large desks. Each one had three chairs. Tsuna sat in the middle with Gokudera to his right and Yamamoto to his left. She also gave him a notebook and Yamamoto said he'd lend him a pencil. They didn't have to take notes, but it was recommended since, Hamment-sensei, did give the occasional test to make sure they understood the material.

Yamamoto promised to get Tsuna more supplies at the Vongola store in the main building after classes. Tsuna was surprised there was a store and Yamamoto explained that new recruits got a small allowance to spend on miscellaneous things. When they became full members they would get paid for the missions they went on; the more dangerous or important the mission the more they'd get paid. Tsuna was surprised until Gokudera explained that though the Vongola's main objective was to fight the Quae Perierat, they couldn't do that if they were dirt poor. So in order to keep up the fight against evil the Vongola became business oriented and took other jobs, such as body guarding or infiltration and much more in different dimensions in order to pay the bills. Since there were countless dimensions the Vongola became extremely rich and powerful.

Yamamoto smiled and told Tsuna that there wasn't one dimension were the Vongola wasn't known. Tsuna thought that was amazing. Gokudera just smirked when he voiced that thought aloud and Yamamoto agreed.

They spent the rest of the time looking over the packet with him as other students trickled in and sat down. Tsuna didn't notice the odd looks and whispers of the other students when they noticed the three, but his companions did. Gokudera shot a glare at the student while Yamamoto tensed slightly, but steadily ignored them.

Both teens knew why they their fellow classmates were surprised, after all it wasn't often that you'd see Gokudera and Yamamoto together even though the two were roommates. Gokudera was a punk, with a temper nobody wanted to deal with while Yamamoto was friendly, but kept his distance from everyone. A group of students hung out around him, but none of them could say they were his friends since they didn't know a thing about the boy. Yet there they were talking and _helping _a small boy, who looked like he would be blown away by a gust of wind.

Tsuna smiled as the packet reviewed basically everything that Gokudera had explained to him yesterday with a few extra tidbits. He was a little uncertain at first about how he was going to get through these classes since he had already been a bad student, but if Gokudera and Yamamoto were willing to help him and he worked really hard then he was sure he'd make it.

"Kufufu Hello again little mouse."

A shiver raced down his spine and Tsuna turned his eyes up to the boy he had met earlier. He stood near them with his other two companions.

"Ahaha Hello Mukuro. What are you doing here?" Yamamoto's voiced gained a slight edge to it; a warning.

Mukuro merely glanced at him in amusement. Before turning his eyes back to Tsuna.

"This is my class Yamamoto Takeshi, why wouldn't I be here? In any case I don't think the two of us were introduced properly, yet. My name is Rokudo Mukuro." He gave a mock bow before gesturing flippantly to his two companions. "These are my associates Ken and Chikusa."

"It's n nice t to m meet y you R Rokudo-san. M my n name is Sawada T Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna's stuttered was more pronounce than it had ever been and he was trying to control his shaking as he bow his head slight from where he was sitting.

"Kufufu trust me the pleasure is all mine. Please feel free to call me Mukuro. Everyone else does. Now if you'll excuse us."

"O of c course."

"Ahaha Bye."

"Tsk."

Tsuna stared down at his desk as they passed by and continued to do so until they had already sat down at the back of the class. He was pale and trembling slightly. Yamamoto hesitated before putting his hand on his new friends shoulder.

"Tsuna?"

"S sorry, Yamamoto. I…well M Mukuro g gives me a v very bad feeling."

"He gives everyone a bad feeling, stupid."

"Haha Gokudera's right you know Tsuna. He's very scary."

"B but…"

"But aside from that, Tsuna…" Tsuna jumped at the sudden seriousness in Yamamoto's voice and looked up at the other boy. "why is it you'll call him by his first name and not me?"

Tsuna blinked and Yamamoto chuckled. He smiled catching onto Yamamoto's attempt to try and relieve the tension Mukuro left behind.

"Well wh when he asked it s sounded more like a threat."

They all chuckled at his comment and Tsuna looked up as the door opened again and a group of students led by a timid looking red head with bandages on his face walked in the classroom taking a group of desks near the front.

"That's the Simon's."

Tsuna turned to Yamamoto, and he explained.

"The Vongola aren't the only ones who fight the Quae Perierat. There are a bunch of different organizations out there. The Simon's are one of them. However, they've fallen out of power and those guys are some of the few left. They came here in order learn how to fight."

"There are others? But I thought that the stones had the inscription _Vongola_ on all of them."

"That's a common misconception." Gokudera took over the explanation. "There are other stone with different inscriptions and abilities such as the Simon who's named after the inscription on their stones. And then there are those with different inscriptions such as the Cavallone who is the Vongola's most powerful and others such as the Giegue and Bovino. Most are allied with the Vongola; however some are not due to different opinions on how to fight the Quae Perierat."

Tsuna nodded, feeling a bit overwhelmed of the vastness of the entire situation. The teacher called for their attention and class start. Hamment-sensei was about to open her most to start her lecture when the door burst open.

"SORRY, TO THE EXTREME. I WAS GOING OUT FOR AN EXTREME MORNING RUN IN THE FOREST AND GOT EXTREMELY LOST!"

There was laughter throughout the class and Tsuna smiled at Ryohei's enthusiasm, while Gokudera muttered idiot under his breath and Yamamoto laughed. The teacher rubbed her forehead and simply gestured for him to take a seat. The boy immediately spotted the three of them and immediately came over.

"SAWADA, IT'S EXTREMELY GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN."

"You t to Onii-san. But can y you keep your voice down. The t teacher is trying to talk."

"If you extremely say so, Sawada!" He was still loud, but he wasn't bellowing much to Tsuna's relief.

The older boy pulled an empty chair from another table and sat down next to Gokudera much to the other boy's irritation.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!"

"I'm extremely sitting here, Octopus-Head!"

"What did you call me!?"

"Octopus-Head!"

"You…I'll kill you!" Gokudera had his bombs out within seconds while Ryohei stood looking reading to fight.

Hamment-sensei was about to snap and shout at the two troublemakers when a soft voice cut through the commotion.

"Onii-san, Gokudera-san please stop. We're in a classroom with other students. Your fight could hurt them. Not only that, but Hamment-sensei is trying to teach. You're both being rude. Please sit down."

Tsuna didn't shout, in fact he spoke very quietly, he didn't even stand up. Yet despite the noise his voice carried through-out the classroom. Everyone held their breathe think this was the last time they'd see the new student, alive that is. Gokudera didn't earn his nickname for nothing. However to their surprise both of the boys sat down. Ryohei looked properly chastised. Gokudera had a scowl on his face, but put his dynamic away none the less glaring at Tsuna the entire time.

Hamment-sensei took advantage of the sudden silence and spoke. "Well then, now that's over shall we continue or will there be another interruption?"

She really shouldn't have jinxed herself, because no sooner did she finish then a knock on the door caught everyone attention. She took a deep breath trying not to scream and went and answered it.

Tsuna shook his head feeling back for the teacher while the class chuckled at the irony. He glanced at the two white haired boys to his right and smiled gently at them to show he wasn't really angry. Ryohei grinned back while Gokudera continued to scowl. Tsuna was just glad they stopped before someone got hurt.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi."

He jumped at his name and look up at the teacher. She gestured for him to come forward.

"You are being summoned, please follow this man."

She gesture to a tall man in a suit who nodded, but otherwise looked very menacing. He gulped and stood slowly. Yamamoto smiled at him encouragingly and Tsuna gave him a shaky one in return.

"Don't worry Tsuna! I'll take extra notes and Gokudera and I will explain the lesson to you later."

"Like hell I will!"

"T Thank you."

He headed to the door leaving his new notebook with Yamamoto and followed the man as he turned and marched down the hall. Tsuna wasn't sure what to think. Did he do something wrong? Was he in trouble? He couldn't muster up the courage to ask the man leading him and thus continued worrying while they left the school and walked to the main building.

Back in the classroom a few people were wonder where that earlier confidence went. While others recognized his surname as the same as the Vongola's Young Lion Sawada Iemitsu. None of them quite knew what to think of the boy.

Tsuna followed the man up through several hallways before they came to what looked like an infirmary were a young nurse greeted them and showed the two to a private room. Tsuna was reminded strongly of his last doctor's visit, but sat down on the low paper covered bed regardless. The man leaned again the wall next to the door. Neither spoke. A few minutes passed. It was starting to get unbearably awkward when the door opened and a middle aged lady walked in holding a clipboard.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

"Y Yeas, ma'am."

She smiled gently at him and he relaxed slightly. "My name is Dr. Ivory. Do you know why you're here."

"N no, ma'am."

She shot a look at the man, but he didn't look all that impressed.

"The boy didn't ask."

She sighed and Tsuna fidgeted. "Sorry."

"Don't be dear. Okay you're here for me to adjust your memories." Tsuna looked at her in confusion and she explained. "Well as I'm sure you know everything someone comes here anyone who new them in the past is immediately wipe of their memory of him or her. You're..well dear, your father became a part of the Vongola when you were very young. The Tenth requested that I give you back your memories before the two of you met so that there is no confusion."

The man left the room to give them some privacy.

Tsuna frowned. "I had my memories erased?"

She smiled encouragingly. "Yes, dear."

"But…then w why do I still remember him?"

"What?"

"I r remember my father ma'am."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Dr. Ivory looked shocked.

"That's not possible." She breathed. She reached her hand out to him before hesitating. "May I? I just want to confirm."

Tsuna nodded and she placed her hand on his forehead her bracelet glowed a bright indigo. Tsuna closed his eyes and tried not to flinch when his memories of his father flashed before his closed lids. When she pulled away Dr. Ivory look sufficiently shaken and gestured for him to follow her. The three of them left the infirmary and continued down more hallways and up some stairs.

Finally they stopped in front of a fancy oak door at the end of the last hallway and Dr. Ivory knocked. The familiar voice of the Ninth meet Tsuna's ears giving them permission to enter the room and they did. Tsuna looked first at the large oak desk pile high with stacks of paper at the end of the room in front of three floor to ceiling windows. It was most defiantly the center piece of the room and Tsuna couldn't help, but stare at the beautiful designs carved into it. To the right of the large room there were two large oak bookcases completely stuffed with books of all sizes. On that same wall were two door, one he assumed was probably a bathroom, while the other was a mystery. To Tsuna's left on the opposite wall there were several fancy looking filing cabinets. Further down near the door Tsuna had come through there was a small sitting area with a couch and three comfortable looking chairs surrounding a low coffee table. The couch was in front of large window seat with several fluffy looking pillows. The entire room screamed money, from the wood paneling and glass chandler to the furniture, wine colored carpet and rugs. Everything looked handmade and Tsuna almost didn't want to go in fearing he might mess it up with his very presence.

Two chuckled caught his attention and he turned toward the sitting area again. There on the couch was the Ninth and sitting in one of the chairs was his father wearing a suit. He stared. He had never seen the man in a suit. He was always in some terrible looking orange pants and a white tank top or boxers.

"It's okay Tsuna. First timers often feel overwhelmed with my office when entering it."

The Ninth smiled kindly at him and Tsuna noticed Dr. Ivory, and the other man bowing in respect. He hastily did the same still not used to the formality. His father chuckled again and he blushed.

"Well I have to say I'm surprised. It normally takes longer to recover memories and even more for the person in question to adjust."

"Well, sir, there was a problem."

The Ninth's eyes sharpened and his father sat up straighter. The man who Tsuna still hadn't gotten the name of left the room and closed the door quietly behind him.

"Well, sir, it seems the younger Sawada-san was not in any need of the procedure. He remembers everything himself."

"Impossible! I was there when they did it!" His father exclaimed looking upset and confused.

"It's true, Sawada sir, I check myself." Dr. Ivory replied looking professional.

"Well isn't this an interesting turn of events." The Ninth sighed. "Thank you for your time Dr. Ivory. I trust you won't say a word."

She nodded and bowed again, before leaving.

"Tsuna, could you take a seat please?"

Tsuna nodded at the other man and gingerly sat down in one of the chairs and look up shying at the two men.

"Tsunayoshi." His father's voice sounded so broken. "I… you weren't suppose too… if I had known…." He trailed off and put his face in his hands. "All these years you didn't know where or why I had left. Oh lord you must hate me."

Tsuna stared at the man, and surprisingly enough none of the feelings of resentment rose. His father was upset over the fact that Tsuna remembered him leaving and knew he had been upset over it. And he had been upset, but being here and learning more about the Vongola he realized why his father had left. He wanted to protect them and thought that that was to only way. Tsuna wouldn't lie to himself and say he still wasn't upset over his choice, but he understood it now and looking at the crestfallen man he understood that it must have been a hard choice to make.

Tsuna sighed. He couldn't bring himself to get up and hug the man. He barely knew him. But still…

"Tsuna." Tsuna smiled gently at his father when he looked up in surprise. "Everyone calls me Tsuna."

Tsuna wasn't prepared for his strong arms to wrap around him in a bone crushing hug after his words, but it wasn't terrible. Tsuna closed his eyes and leaned into his father's embrace. It was warm.

It was…nice.

* * *

Timoteo look at the touching scene in front of him with tear glazed eyes. His only son left didn't like being in the same room as him much less being touch, _hugged_, by him. He turned his head and gazed out the window. He hadn't told Iemitsu of his plans for the boy yet, and had a feeling that it wouldn't go over very well with the younger man. However, he hoped Iemitsu would see why he made his decision and realize how important his young son is to the continuation of the Vongola. He sighed, only time would tell…

* * *

**This chapter is literally over 5,000 words! And that's not counting my authors note! I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written! Anyway, more characters were introduced and we got a quick rundown of the classes and how they work. If its confusing let me know. Tsuna met his father, I'm not going to lie that part made me tear up as I was writing it. We learn the name of the bad guys, which by the way means Lost Ones in Latin, and more about the Vongola! And Tsuna total goes all mother on Ryohei and Gokudera, haha, that was fun to write. More shall be explain on various things, classes shall actually be attended, more familiar faces and there will be some action in the next chapter so stay tuned!**

** Anyway onto reviews! I got a lot of them this time!**

**_Glasses and Spectacles~_ Awe you reviewed my story! That makes me so happy! Yeah someone else pointed that out and I had thought I changed it, but I didn't update the chapter so it didn't change. Oops! I got it now. :) Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it. Mukuro is in this chapter just for you, haha he was fun to write. And yes everyone from the anime and manga is going to be involved in some way; some just may take a little longer to show up and sometimes those who do show up will take a while to get involved. I'm glad you like the pace. I was actually worried I was rushing it a little. Haha thanks again for your two back to back reviews. I'm happy to hear from you. 3**

**_LucianaDemon27~_ Thanks for the review! Umm well this plot line was an original story of mine, that was supose to turn into a novel, but I only got the first chapter written before life hit me with a tone of bricks and I lost my notes and will to continue so I honestly have no idea what movie your talking about. I tried thinking of one, but couldn't come up with any that I've watched that resembles it. The only thing I could think of was an anime called man that had the same concept of a large organization fighting against evil with their powers given to them by God, but aside from the organization and powers the similarities are very few when I compared the whole plot and characters together. If you do find out what movie you were thinking about please let me know. :) And thank you I'm glad you think it goes well with khr I thought it would when I was starting it, but I'm glad someone else does too. **

**_otaku908~_ Haha really? That's hilarious. Thanks for the review and here's another quick update. ;)**

**_Bleach-ed-Na-tsu~_ Hello again! Thank you so much! I glad you liked him, honestly I was just going to have Reborn's pov again at first, but then I'm like I love this guy why not do it from his pov? I liked him both the anime and manga even though you don't see him that much and I thought he could use some spot light ya know? And yes Tsuna is good at surprising people, haha. I will try! Thanks!**

**_Great~_ Hello again to you too! Haha don't spoil it! Though I'm sure everyone probably already guess that! And yes the Enma and the Simon did appear though they won't be all that active till way later in the story. I love those guys to much not to include them. Thanks for the review! **

**Thanks for reading! Please review! I'm was so motivated by you guys that I wrote this humongous chapter for you! If you keep reviewing like that I may write another! ****Ciao, till next next time. :)**

**Edit 9/21/13- Seriously I make some stupid mistakes... **


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry, this was suppose to be posted yesterday, but we were celebrating my brother birthday. (It wasn't his actual birthday, but since my parents are working on his actual birthday we decided to celebrate yesterday.) So I typed it out today, but kept getting distracted so now it's nearly midnight. Ugh, sorry guys. **

**Declaimer****: Don't own Khr**

* * *

When everyone was back in their proper seats again his father and the Ninth immediately exchanged looks and began discussing how Tsuna could possible remember him. Iemitsu suggested that it might have something to do with Tsuna's flame which was still unknown, but the Ninth had a different opinion on the matter.

"I believe it is because of the Vongola blood flowing through your veins. It's said that descendants of the Vongola Primo, or first boss of the Vongola, often have oddities about them that only their blood could explain. Such has the fact that Reborn reported Tsuna being about to see him even though he was on a different plane than him. Tsuna looks quite a bit like your ancestor I wouldn't be surprised if he inherited some of the traits the Primo was known for. We don't take away a person's memories. That's impossible. Our top medical illusionists use their skills to tweak the memories involving the person in questions and prevent thoughts of the person from rising to a conscious level."

Tsuna blinked in surprise, and was slightly impressed. You could do all of that with illusions? Not to mention the fact that he was apparently a decedent of the Vongola Primo. And what was this about Reborn being on a different plane? What did that mean?

"One of the many things the Vongola Primo was known for was his Hyper Intuition. It's said it was so powerful he could see through even the most powerful illusion. Tsuna may have inherited a portion of this ability allow his mind to reject the illusion and keep him memories about you intact along with being able to see through the different planes."

His father nodded looking thoughtful, and Tsuna was simply confused. Timoteo seemed to notice.

"If you have a question please go ahead and ask it Tsuna."

"Oh, o okay. Um w what are t these p planes?"

"Okay so I'm sure you've learned by now that there are many, many dimensions." Tsuna nodded and he continued. "Well each of these dimensions is separated into different planes of existence. Normal people can only see and live in one plane, which we call the reality plane, though there are cases in which people have the ability to see or even enter other planes. They are in the same dimensions; however some planes are faster than the reality plane and others that are slower. When on missions Vongola agents will often travel and fight on a different plane in order not to be noticed by average people. The women that attacked you, sealed your mother on a slower moving plane, making it look like she was frozen when she was actually simply moving at a minuscule pace in comparison to the reality plane."

He saw Tsuna's confusion and tried to explain further.

"Hmm let's see. All right how about this. There are thousands of different cakes on a table. They represent the dimensions. Now each of these cakes has several different layers. These represent the planes. The layers are different flavors and colors making them unique from the others. The middle layer, vanilla, is the reality plane. The other planes surround it, but they don't interact which is why a normal person cannot see what is on a separate plane. Did that help?"

Tsuna's eyes lit up in understanding and he nodded. His father chuckled, while the Ninth smiled.

After that they talked for a long while about miscellaneous things including how well Tsuna was adjusting to living at the Vongola. For which Tsuna shyly told them about his new friends and that he really liked it here. His missed his mother, and wished he had a few of his possessions, but other than that he was happy.

When they finally decided that he should really get back to class, Tsuna and his father stood awkwardly for a moment before Tsuna finally spoke up.

"Uh, well…" He took a deep breath and continued. "I don't really know you. The memories I have of you are that from a young child. I'm still upset that you left, but I understand why now and…I want to know you."

His mother always said that talking was the first step toward forgiveness. He might still be angry with his father, but he wasn't going to shut the man out completely.

Iemitsu smiled. "Yes, of course. We'll have to get together from time to time. It might be tough with our conflicting schedules, but I'm sure we can find some free time to meet up."

Tsuna nodded and they shook hands. He bowed to the Ninth and left the room feeling lighter than he had when entering it. The same man from before led his back to class and he noticed that two in a half classes had gone by while he was gone and there was a different teach at the front of the room. He gave the stern looking man a nervous smiled and slipped back into his seat between Yamamoto and Gokudera. Yamamoto smiled at him while Gokudera looked bored. Ryohei was dutifully doodling in his notebook, but smiled at him when he passed mouthing the word _extreme._

"Well, thanks to that interruption I'll have to start my explanation over again." The teachers nasally voice made Tsuna cringe, while the rest of the class groaned.

Gokudera rolled his eyes and went back to staring up at the ceiling while Yamamoto frowned. Nezu-sensei as Tsuna soon found out was a very nasty man who thought he was better than everyone else and made sure to thoroughly embarrass any student who scored below his standards, which were extremely high. Tsuna wasn't looking forward to his classes, especially considering the fact that he was terrible at science.

He felt bad for the quiet redhead in the front of the classroom for whom was the teachers prime target for his snide remarks and accusations. He knew what that felt like. He tried to take good notes, but the man was talking too fast for him to understand what was going on. He nearly cried with relief when Yamamoto whispered that he'd help him later.

The four of them were up and nearly out of the class immediately when the class ended and Yamamoto said it was lunch time. They chatted all the way down the hallway with Ryohei shout _extreme_ every once in a while when he agree with what they were saying. Tsuna glanced at Gokudera. He seemed angry about something. Tsuna wanted to ask, but was too scared too. He resolved to do it later if Gokudera was still in a bad mood by the end of lunch.

* * *

Yamamoto glanced at Tsuna out of the corner of his eye and smiled at the concerned look the shorter boy was sending Gokudera. Tsuna was so sweet. His silver haired roommate had been in a foul mood since Tsuna had cut into his fight with Ryohei and he could guess why.

There were very few people that Gokudera listened too. One of which was his sister, but that was mostly because he collapsed with a terrible stomach ache at the sight of her. The only other that Yamamoto new was the Vongola Nono. There might have been others, but he doubted it. The fact of the matter was that Gokudera didn't like being told what to do and he tended to react violently when someone tried to order him around. When Yamamoto had first come here Gokudera was the only person who had his own room because he blew up his roommates.

Gokudera tried to do the same to him, but Yamamoto was faster and stronger than the others and was able to dodge and punched the other boy in the face. They were both beat up afterwards and the other boy never failed to give him terse responses and hate filled insults to any question after that, until Tsuna came here.

The smaller boy probably didn't even know what kind of effect he had on the people around him. Yamamoto for one felt more calm and happy when talking or even simple being in the same room as the boy. His smiles were truer when Tsuna was around. His kind nature had even Gokudera softening up and explaining things to the brunette which was a strange sight to behold.

Yamamoto had noticed it right away, but it seemed like Gokudera didn't. However, that incident in the class made him realize it. And Gokudera didn't like this change one bit. Yamamoto smiled sadly at the other boy. Gokudera tried so hard to disconnect with the rest of the world. Using his fiery temper and weapons to keep others at a distance. He probably didn't know how to deal with situations like this. He shook his head. There was no use thinking about it. Gokudera would realize sooner or later that Tsuna was a person worthy of letting in and becoming friends with, he was a genius after all. Yamamoto just hoped he realized this before he did something stupid.

"Yamamoto?"

"Ehh?" He was jerked back to reality, by Tsuna's voice.

"Ahaha Sorry Tsuna, I was zoning out."

The smaller boy smiled. "It's okay, I w was just wondering what the schedule is normally. Does it change from day to day? Also what c class do we have next?"

Yamamoto smiled; Tsuna was starting to lose his stutter. "Well let's see. Today's Monday so we had our class about the stones, then history, and science. After lunch is Weapon's training. Then we have physical training for an hour and a half and we're done! Haha we usually get out about 2 and have the rest of the day to ourselves. Tuesday is the same schedule, but the rest of the days are different. Wednesday and Thurday we have weapons first, then math, then language, lunch, Know your Enemy (KYE), and physical training for an hour and a half. Friday through Sunday we have weapons from 7 to 8:30 and physical training from 9 to 10:30."

"Ah, wow. T That's nice."

"Ahaha Yeah it is isn't it?"

"It's EXTREME!"

"Ah Onii-san, please d don't yell!"

"WHY NOT?!"

"Because….well it's, um, disturbing others!"

"Hahaha Come on guys let's get some lunch."

Yamamoto was mildly surprised when Gokudera did sit with them instead of going off to sulk somewhere else, but simply took it as a sign that Gokudera was changing for the better.

He tried to explain what happened in the classes that Tsuna missed with Ryohei chiming in at certain moment trying to help as well, but Tsuna just looked even more confused and Gokudera refused to talk to them despite numerous attempts to include him by the three. Tsuna was looking very upset and couldn't focus on what they were trying to tell him so Yamamoto eventually gave up. They agreed to talk about it later, when they had some peace and quiet in the dorm.

Yamamoto wasn't all that worried; classes had only started a week ago so there wasn't much he had to catch up on. Especially if Gokudera got out of his rut and decided to help out. They chatted about what they were going to do after classes. Tsuna wanted to explore the area a bit more, but Ryohei wanted to train some more. They agreed on walking around the grounds and the trails in the forest that way Ryohei could jog if he wanted too. When lunch ended Yamamoto patted the smaller boy on the back and said his goodbyes.

"Ahaha well Tsuna looks like lunch's over. You guys are lucky, neither Sasagawa nor I have activated our Vongola Gear yet so we have to attend a different class. We'll see you in Physical training though! Gokudera make sure he gets to the classroom, okay?"

He didn't get a response from the other boy, but Tsuna waved and said goodbye when they parted. Yamamoto smiled and turned to Ryohei only to blink in surprise. The other boy was staring at Tsuna and Gokudera's retreating backs intently.

"Sasagawa?"

"Gokudera's extremely upset. That's not going to end well."

Yamamoto frowned. He hoped Tsuna would be alright.

* * *

Tsuna kept shooting quick glances at the silvered haired boy beside him trying to think of something to say. Gokudera had been silent since he got back from the meeting with the Ninth and his father. He was really worried. Did something happen while he was gone? Was Gokudera mad at him? He didn't know what to do.

"Stop staring at me, wimp."

"Hiieee! S sorry, G Gokudera-kun!"

Was it him or did the other boy have more malice in his voice than before? He looked at his shoes.

"Uh, G Gokudera-kun, w what d do we d do in W Weapons T training?"

"Tsk, Stop stuttering around me would you!?"

"Hiiiiieeeee!"

"And that stupid 'hie' thing is annoying too!" Gokudera's voice was sharp and Tsuna flinched.

"S Sorry."

"Tsk. You're so freakin' annoying."

"G Gokude…."

"I hate weakling like you."

Tsuna didn't know what to think. Why was Gokudera so upset? Why, why did he hate him now? Tsuna had thought, no, he shook his head trying to prevent the tears from welling in his eyes. He was stupid for thinking Gokudera liked him in the first place. Why would he? Tsuna _was_ weak after all. He felt a pang in his heart. He was stupid. Silly Tsuna thought that his no good self could have actual friends for once. He pushed his emotions to the side not wanting to cry in front of the other boy. They walked the rest of the way in silence.

When they entered the large room Tsuna wasn't sure what he expected, but it wasn't this. The room was completely white like the training rooms Yamamoto and Gokudera showed him yesterday, but there were scorch marks and dents in the wall and floors. He nearly screamed when he caught sight of a human shaped scorch on the floor beside his foot, but held it in not wanting to annoy Gokudera even more.

They weren't the only ones in the room, in fact a bunch of kids were already waiting, including Mukuro. Tsuna really hoped the scary boy would leave him alone. Thankfully he seemed intent on talking to an annoyed looking black hair boy. Tsuna recognized him as the one who was destroying dummies in one of the training rooms yesterday. He paled when they started fighting. Mukuro with a trident and the other boy with tonfa's.

He turned to Gokudera wondering what exactly was going on and to ask where the teacher was, only to find him several feet away leading against the wall smoking a cigarette. When Tsuna stepped toward him he gave him a nasty glare making Tsuna back up quickly. Did Gokudera hate him now?

"Oh, Hello little mouse I didn't see you there."

"HIIEEE! M M Mukuro!"

"Kufufu How do you did your voice to go that high?"

"Herbivore, why have you abandoned our fight? I will bite you to death for your arrogance."

Tsuna's eyes widened as the other boy seemed to appear in front of him in an instance, emitting a scary aura. He glanced at Mukuro, but he seemed unworried.

"Kufufu I was talking to someone. It's rude to interrupt."

Tsuna jumped back when their weapons collided with a loud ring.

"T This is d dangerous!"

"Kyoya! Mukuro! Stop it right now!"

Tsuna looked over his shoulder to see a tall blond haired man looking exasperated. The black hair man with a mustache beside him shook his head looking mildly annoyed. The boy's fighting paid him no mind and he sighed.

"Honestly. I'm the boss of the Cavallone. Why do I have to deal with these reckless newbies from the Vongola?"

"Because, Vongola Nono asked this of you when the other instructors we injured and/or traumatized. You owed him a favor, remember?"

The blond haired man slumped a little; there was a slight whine in his voice when he spoke again. "Yeah, yeah I know. But they do this every day."

The man glanced at Tsuna and smiled. "Sorry about this, your new right? Don't worry I'll take care of them then start the lesson. Once I get everyone started then I'll explain how this class works, alright?"

His eyes widened and he smile shying at the man. "T thank you."

He nodded and smiled back before turning serious and pulling out a whip. Tsuna watched with eye wide as he snatched their weapons away with a flick of his whip. The teacher was really cool! After a scolding that had obviously been repeated many times and had obviously been ignored just as many the teacher turned to the rest of the class and told most of them to resume trying to ignite their flames, like he had taught them and the others, to spare with one another using their flames while Romario, the other man with a mustache, kept an eye on them. Gokudera was part of the latter group. The Kyoya person and Mukuro were told to practice by themselves on opposite sides of the room.

"Alright my name is Dino. I'm the boss of the Cavallone, what's your name?" Dino smiled at him and Tsuna relaxed slightly.

"H Hello. I'm S Sawada Tsunayoshi, b but everyone calls me Tsuna. It's nice to meet you, Dino-san." He didn't know whether he should bow or not, this man was a leader of an important organization.

"Ah so your Sawada's son. I see. I see. Well it's nice to meet you Tsuna, just call be Dino. May I see your Vongola Gear?"

Tsuna nodded and showed him. Dino examined it a moment before continuing.

"Okay, what's your flame?"

"S Sorry I don't know."

Dino blinked. "Ah well what was the color of you stone?"

"Um, I'm sorry D Dino, but I never saw it. It changed immediately into this."

"Oh."

Dino faltered for a minute before seemly deciding something. "Well I guess it'll be a surprise for all of us then. Okay, so this class is based on trying to get recruits to ignite their flames and learn how to fight with them."

Something exploded behind them and Tsuna watched as Gokudera's opponent went flying.

"Ah, as you can see it can get dangerous when some students are involved, but don't worry we have trained healers on hand."

Those words didn't comfort him. Tsuna feared for his life now. Especially with Mukuro and that other boy in the same room. They were scary!

"Well anyways to ignite your flame you must have the resolved to do so. This is the most difficult part, but don't worry I'll help you through it."

Tsuna nodded wondering what he meant by resolve.

"Okay so what you need to do it focus on your Gear. Try to sense the energy within it. Then think about what gives you strength."

Tsuna frowned. "S Sorry, but I d don't understand."

"That's alright; this is why I said it was the most difficult part. Many people don't know what resolve even is much less how to muster enough of it to ignite your flame. What is important to you Tsuna?"

Tsuna looked at the ground. What was important to him? An image of his mother can to mind and of his old home. That was expected. He loved his mother very much, but surprisingly enough that wasn't the end of the list. Yamamoto, Gokudera, and Onii-san also appeared. He had only met them yesterday, yet they became his first friends. For someone who had been friendless for so many years, he supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. He looked up.

"My mother and my friends. They are important to me. "

It felt good to say friend out loud. Dino nodded.

"Okay, think about those feelings and turn it into resolve."

"H how do I do that?"

"Think about how important they are to you. Get a good image of them in your mind. Hold that feeling close to you and try channeling it into your ring."

Tsuna tried doing that, and for a brief moment he felt something stir, then it was gone. He slumped in defeat.

"Haha. Don't worry Tsuna; there are only a few people who get it on the first time." He gestured to the group of students he told to try and ignite their flames. "I've been working with them for a week now and they still haven't got it yet. It takes time. Even I didn't get it for the longest time. Well, I have to go check on the other now. You can sit down if you want just keep trying okay?"

Tsuna smiled shakily at the older man and sat down as he walked away. He took a deep breath and tried again to no avail. He frowned and closed his eyes think intently about the people he cared about. His mother's gentle smile and warm embrace. He thought about Yamamoto's laughter and calming demeanor. Onii-san's enthusiasm and energetic personality. He almost had it. Gokudera's grumpy personality, grudging explanations, and and…

"_Tsk. You're so freakin' annoying."_

"_I hate weaklings like you."_

Tsuna opened his eyes slowly. Gokudera hated him didn't he? He hated him because Tsuna was weak. He stared at the ring in his fingers. Yet despite the other boys cruel words Gokudera was still important to him. He was one of the fist people he met when he woke up here, and he explained so much to him. He sighed.

"Kyoya! Mukuro! What did I say?!"

Dino's shout brought him out of his depression and he glanced up with die eyes. The two we going at it again looking just as scary as the first time. Ruble was flying everywhere. Dino had to use his whip to protect the students he was helping. Tsuna glanced over at the other group. Gokudera had been in another spar and was just turning and his got a full face full of rumble. Tsuna watched in dismay as the dynamites in his hand fell to the ground around him.

Gokudera!

* * *

_This is the end of me._

Gokudera closed his eyes in acceptance not expecting a small body to go barreling into him; pushing him out of the way.

He gazed up at the ceiling in shock for a minute before the sound of screaming pulled him back into reality. There was someone lying beside him. He turned his head slowly and froze in shock and horror.

There was Tsuna lying face down on the unforgiving floor. His forehead was bleeding, but that wasn't what made Gokudera nearly hyperventilate. No it was the other boys back. Tsuna had taken the brunt of his triple bombs when he pushed Gokudera out of the way…

_This is all my fault._

* * *

** So yeah. That was terrible way to end it. I apologize. Well anyway we get some of Yamamoto's pov! Yay! I hope I did fine with that he's surprisingly hard to write. Dino also appears as a teacher. Haha it suits him. And Gokudera was being a jerk. Boo! Bad Gokudera. In any case Tsuna saves him at the cost of his own health. Will poor Tsuna survive? How will Gokudera react now that he owes Tsuna his life? (I think we all know the answer to that question, I just wanted to be dramatic.)**

**I don't have much else to say about this chapter. **

**So! Onto Reviews~**

**_Great~_ Yup, Yup that Tsuna! Hibari has appeared, but they haven't technically met yet, does that count? Haha. Chrome is currently else where, but she'll appear, eventually! Yeah I'm not awful found of it as well. I never really liked Iemitsu in the anime or manga, but he's a decent character as a whole. Didn't make the best decisions, but obviously loves his family. As for Lambo, honestly, I'm not sure yet. I'm trying to find a way to pull him in. I think I may have him a bit older, but not much. Thanks for the review!**

**_Pure Red Crane~_ Thanks for reviews and yes I looked it up on Reborn Wiki, your right. I have it change now. Thanks for letting me know! Nope nothing wrong with Tsuna! haha Thanks again for the reviews. :) **

**_happytth~_ Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like it! (Insert happy author squeal here~)**

**_silvermoon170~_ Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yes Tsuna is good at worming his way into the hearts of others. :) **

**_Ayaki-Chan~_ Thanks! I really couldn't resist, hehe. Oh pineapple head you amuse me so...**

**~ Awe I'm glad! Haha he sort of met Hibari and Chrome will come in eventually. Thanks, it's part of an original story line of mine and I thought it'd work out perfectly for khr. :) I'm not telling~ You'll have to find out when dear little Tsuna does~  
**

**_Glasses and Spectacles~_ haha yeah, I didn't think the Vongola wanted super power teenagers working for them while being unable to solve simple algebra problems (Mitobe would be pissed) or other basic knowledge that could save their life one day. ****Saving the entirety of the universe and all of its dimensions is not cheap you know, haha. **I couldn't imagine the Vongola surviving this long on donations alone, so I created a system for them. Nah, nah in fact he was suppose to first appear in this chapter fighting Hibari, but I think it worked out well for Tsuna to meet him before hand. Enma is an adorable baby! I'm glad somebody agrees! I love him! Haha Thank you so much for the review! It's great hearing from you! 

**Thanks for reading! Please review! They make me happy, and when I'm happy I write more. No, seriously, every time I lost focus trying to write this stupid chapter I re-read the reviews and got inspired to continue onward. **

**Edit 9/21/13- I seem to be deadly afraid of capitalizing Tsuna's name in this chapter. That was the main corrections I had to make...it's kind-of sad.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Declaimer****: Can I stop this now? I think we all know I don't own it...**

* * *

Gokudera sat on the floor next to the smaller boy's bed and watched the steady rise and fall his chest. Tsuna's wounds were healed, and the nurse said that he was just exhausted. Gokudera was charged with watching over him until Tsuna woke up, well, more accurately he refused to leave the other boy and the nurse finally gave up and left.

He clinched his fists.

Growing up as a bastard child of a mafia boss was troublesome, especially after he found out that his mother had been his dear piano teacher who had died. He had always felt inferior and in his anger pushed people away. It was only when he had no one else, did he realize how painful it was to be alone. However, he couldn't change the choices he made or the fact that he had hurt others with his sharp words and fists. He eventually caved and ran away.

No one cared who he was on the street or where he came from, but life was significantly more difficult. He couldn't count the times he had curled up into a shivering ball in the corner of some ally trying to ignore the rumbling of his stomach. He had tried to join other mafia families to no avail. They laugh in his face and occasionally beat him up. Years passed and he got name for himself as a fiery tempered punk who'd blow up anyone who dared tell him what to do.

When he had found his stone and was taken to the Vongola by that pervert doctor nothing really changed other than the fact that he now had a roof over his head and food whenever he was hungry. He regained the memories of his sister, but it wasn't like they were close to begin with, so he barely saw her at all, for which he was grateful. He got the nickname _Smokin' Bomb Hayato_, and continued ignoring the rest of the world as much as he could. The other kids learned to stay clear of him and the teacher learned to simply gave up trying to control him.

When the Baseball Idiot arrived he wasn't overly fond of the boy, but the boy was strong and generally left him alone. Gokudera was willing to put up with him as long as he didn't get any bright ideas on trying to befriend him. Yamamoto seemed to understand and they didn't talk much other than the occasional question from the idiot for which Gokudera answered tersely.

Gokudera wasn't happy at all when another boy was dropped on in his room and the Baseball Idiot and him nearly got in another fight when he was about to toss the unconscious boy out the door. They eventually settle it without fists and the idiot woke the weakling. Everything seemed to move quickly after that. He was wrangled into an explanation and the smaller boy had seemed so genuinely grateful an emotion he was not used to receiving from someone else. He recognized his last name and connected him relation to the head of the CEDEF immediately, but didn't say anything. It wasn't his business.

Events flew by so quickly. The brunette was very nervous and had an annoying stutter, but was also very kind. He seemed to understand loneliness and saw through the Baseball Idiots fact smile with little trouble. For once in a long time he was grudgingly happy. The shorter boy had an air about him that drew Gokudera in and his eyes seemed to accept Gokudera despite his attitude toward him. He hadn't noticed it at first. He was so caught up in the moment, still not fully realizing what exactly was happening.

That was until the brunette had stopped his fight with words alone. He had calmed at the smaller boys voice and felt ashamed for his actions at his words. His father, his stepmother, his sister, none of them had ever made him feel that way. His father and stepmother were too afraid to anger him so they had always given him what he wanted. His sister used to scare him and to this day he still suffered childhood trauma when see her, but she had never been able to order him around. They only one who had ever made him feel ashamed for his temper was his piano teacher, his real mother.

Gokudera couldn't concentrate after that, and was almost grateful for the other boy's absence. He didn't understand. All his thoughts were a jumble. Why? Why? He got angry at his own confusion and strange actions and took it out on the boy. He had immediately felt bad afterward especially at the sight of that sorrowful expression, but he didn't know how to apologize. He threw his troubling emotions to the wind when classed started and took out his sparing opponents in quick succession. He wasn't prepared for the ruble to hit him in the face when he turned around. He had let go of his dynamite in surprise.

He had seriously thought that he was going to die. Though he never thought he end up dying in such a comical manner. Blown up by his favorite weapon. He had imagined his death to be more dramatic. He thought that's he'd calmly smiled and say something cool. He had never imagined he'd feel regretful. He never thought he'd wished he would have a second chance to apologize to the boy he had wronged.

He bowed his head in shame. He had gotten a second chance at the cost of the health and well-being of the very boy he wanted it for. The irony was painful. He stared at the smaller boy lying unconscious and unaware of the turmoil that Gokudera was currently experiencing. Looking at his calm face he realized just how small the other boy was. He looked so fragile. He felt another wave of shame. Looking down at his clinched hands he made a decision.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi. I will protect you."

He owed the other boy his life. Gokudera would now gladly give his own to protect him. He was born into a mafia family after all.

And the mafia took life debts very seriously.

* * *

Timoteo nodded solemnly as Reborn finished his report.

"So you are certain that you saw the sky flames?"

"Yes sir, it was only for a brief moment, but Tsuna did activate them in order to get over the Gokudera in time to push the boy out of the way. What's more, he didn't activate them in the usual way."

He frowned. "Explain."

"Sir, his eyes changed to a sunset orange ad flame appeared on his head. Normal the flames only appear on the weapon, however Tsuna didn't activate his weapon he simple entered…"

"Hyper Dying Will Mode." Timoteo finished for him.

Reborn nodded. "He'll be very sore when he wakes up, but the healer informed me that other than a burn on his forehead where the flame appeared damage was minimal due to the fact that he was only in it for a few seconds. Of course he retained other injuries because to the explosion, but those were taken care of easily."

Timoteo was only half listening, but nodded any way while deep in thought. The boy's blood line was proof enough that he'd be powerful, but to actually go into HDWM without the aid of a bullet or pill was outrageous. He took a deep breath. Any doubts on the boy's ability to take the position as Vongola Decimo had flown out the window. He only hoped the boy would forgive him eventually for forcing him into this.

"Reborn. I believe you are most qualified for training Tsuna. This will remain top secret. So I want the boy to continue attending classes normally aside from Weapon's for obvious reasons. However he is yours outside of class so train him well Reborn." He stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me; I have to go inform Iemitsu and my guardians of this decision."

"Is it a good idea to tell Iemitsu alone?"

"I'll tell my guardians first so that they can hold him back if he gets violent during my explanation."

Reborn nodded and bowed as he left and Timoteo smiled slightly at his friend's back. He could tell the baby wasn't happy about this decision, but he had faith that Reborn would take his job very seriously and turn Tsuna into a magnificent boss. He walked out the door as well and started down the hall where he had last seen his storm guardian. Hopefully the meeting with Iemitsu would turn out well and nothing important was broken. He already had enough paper to fill out in regards to choosing a new successor.

* * *

Tsuna was having a strange dream. He was in that same orange room he had dreamed about when had blacked out just yesterday after Reborn had shown up and scared away that woman. Just as before the ring was next to him. He picked it up and looked around.

Where was he?

It was just an empty room with sunset colored crystal walls, ceiling, and floor. He turned around and for a briefest moment he thought he saw a tall blond man with gentle eyes and a glowing flame on his forehead.

_You are not ready, yet. Come back when you are stronger._

"What?! Wait!"

The man was gone and the room was slowly fading around him. He opened his eyes and found himself in his dorm room. He stared up at the bunk above him for a while trying to regain his bearings. He went to sit up, but was overcome by pain.

"Ack!"

He wrapped his arms around himself and curled up into a ball. What had happened? Everything hurt. Tears welled up in his eyes.

"Sawada-sama! Here swallow this!"

He felt someone open his mouth and plop something round and cherry flavored. He swallowed automatically. He wasn't sure how long he stayed curled up like that, but the entire time someone was talking gently to him and stroking his back. For a minute he thought it was his mother, but as the pained eased up he realized that his mother defiantly didn't sound like a teenage boy. He turned with wide eyes to Gokudera.

Was he still dreaming? He had to be, because the other boy had a concerned look on his face.

"Are you feeling better now Sawada-sama?"

Tsuna nodded feeling a little overwhelmed and slightly frightened. What exactly happened? Why was Gokudera acting this way? He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. The other boy smiled.

"The pill I can you was from the healers, it's super condensed sun flames meant for killing pain and healing internal injuries. The nurse said to give it to you when you woke up."

"Oh, t thank y you."

Tsuna wasn't sure what he expected, but Gokudera suddenly turning serious and kneeling in front of him with his forehead to the ground wasn't it.

"I am very sorry Sawada-sama for saying cruel things and being rude overall to you. Despite my words you still saved me when I was going to die. For that I owe you my life. Order me to do anything, Sawada-sama and I will do it."

"Hiiiiieee!? G Gokudera-kun?"

Now he remembered what happened! He had managed to cross the room in an instant and push Gokudera out of the way of his dynamites taking the brunt of the explosion himself. He looked at Gokudera, who still hadn't risen from his position and his eyes softened.

"Gokudera-kun, you don't have to do this."

"I do!" Tsuna jumped as Gokudera looked up with determination. "I grew up in a mafia family, Sawada-sama, and in the mafia if someone saves your life you are in debt to them. You can repay this debt in only one way by becoming the others subordinate."

"G Gokudera-kun I'm n not a p part of the m mafia, so…"

Gokudera cut him off. "I know Sawada-sama, but the traditions of my family have been ingrained into me, and even if I didn't come from a mafia background I would still owe you my life and have to repay that debt in some way. I wish to protect the one who saved me! Please, Sawada-sama this is my way of saying thank you! Order me not to come near you if you must and I will protect you from a far! Or order me never to talk to you again and I will protect you silently! Just please order me to do something. I have said cruel words I didn't mean to you! If you wish it then you can hit me all you want and I will not fight back! Order me to do anything you please I will do so!"

His forehead once again hit the floor after his speak and Tsuna gaped at the boy in concern. He thought over the silvered haired boys' speech and smiled gently. So Gokudera really didn't hate him. That made him happy.

He shook his head at Gokudera's bowed form and knelt in front of him.

"Alright Gokudera-kun I have two orders for you."

Gokudera tensed and spoke without looking up. "Yes, Sawada-sama I'll do anything."

"First, don't call be Sawada-sama. Tsuna's fine."

Gokudera jerked his head up. "But!"

Tsuna just held up his hand and the other boy fell silent immediately.

"My second order is…"

* * *

"To simply be my friend."

Gokudera stared at the smaller boy in shock and awe. Did he hear his orders, correctly? They didn't make sense. He wanted to argue, but one look into those kind eyes told him that the small boy truly meant it. Tsuna smiled brightly.

"So, friends?"

"Y yes, Tsuna…sama."

"Haha Well I suppose that's good enough for now." Tsuna held out his hand as a sign of friendship.

Gokudera, still in shock, and took the hand offered taking note in how much smaller it was in comparison to his. The other boy's smiled got even brighter if that was even possible. Gokudera wanted to go curl up in a corner. Someone like him didn't deserve this kindness. He looked at the ground.

"Why?" He didn't mean for that question to slip out and he immediately tried to apologize, but Tsuna just shook his head.

"Why did I save you? Well that's because I was afraid you were going to die. Even though you said you hated me I still cared about you and was scared when I saw those dynamites fall to the ground around you."

Gokudera's eyes widened. The other boy was so kind. He looked down as a huge wave of shame crashed down on him. He slumped pathetically.

"Ah, Gokudera-kun?!"

"Sorry."

"You don't have to apologize."

"Thank you."

"No Gokudera-kun, I really should be thanking you. Before I came here I didn't have any friends. I was terrible at everything and never stood up for myself when I got bullied. I was lonely, but I didn't do anything about it. I could have gone out and talked to people or asked for help from adults, but I didn't because it was too hard. I gave up on a lot of things because of that. Today was the first time I ever wanted to do something even though it was hard, even though I'd get hurt. I couldn't just sit there and watched as one of the only friends I had died right in front of me." Tsuna gave him a small smile. "So really I should be thanking you for giving me a reason to keep going to keep trying."

Tsuna looked at him with determined eyes. "I want to get stronger to protect my friends!"

They both jumped when Tsuna's ring suddenly flashed brightly. Tsuna stared in awe and Gokudera's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Tsuna's Vongola Gear had ignited. The pure orange flame light up the room as they stared in complete shock. Then it was gone. Gokudera let out a breath.

"Well we now know what flame, Tsuna-sama has now."

Tsuna looked up in confusion obviously having forgotten which color goes to which flame. Gokudera smiled a little shakily.

"Tsuna-sama has the exceedingly rare sky flame."

"Huh?"

* * *

Reborn watch the two teens interact after Tsuna woke up and was pleased that Tsuna had already gained a loyal subordinate. That would save him some trouble, not to mention the fact that the Yamamoto boy and Sasagawa boy were also prime candidates for guardian positions. He'll have to asses their skills and train them as well.

As he continued to watch the two, he started planning out his training methods in order to garner the best results. It was good that Tsuna had the resolve to protect his friends and he activated his weapon. He nodded to himself. This was playing out better than he had expected it too.

Look out Tsuna, the training days from hell were about to start…

* * *

"So, an heir has been decided on?"

"That's what my sources tell me~"

"Did they also tell you who it was?"

"No, that has been kept strictly secret by the Vongola Nono and his guardians~"

"Well that's unfortunate."

"Yes, however, my sources believe that the heir is among the new recruits~ besides, how hard is it to find someone with a sky flame?"

"You'd be surprised. The Vongola are a secretive bunch."

"Then systematically find all of the strongest recruits and go from there~"

"Kufufu If that's what you want than alright, but you do realize my cover will be completely blown if I'm caught."

"Then don't get caught~"

"Kufufu You're so demanding. Okay, okay I'll do it your way if only to destroy the Vongola at its source."

"Good. Oh and Mukuro, try not to die okay~ It would be a pain to replace such a good subordinate such as yourself~"

"Say what you want, but I am not your subordinate. I am simply going along with you because we have the same goal."

"So feisty! That's why I like you~ Well take care now~"

The line went dead and Mukuro glared at it in annoyance. The sooner he finished this, the sooner he wouldn't have to deal with that man. The Quae Perierat had such an odd unpredictable leader. He didn't want to be a part of his schemes any longer than necessary…

* * *

** Wow there were a lot of pov changes this chapter! And we get Gokudera pov! Yay! I actually adore him in both the manga and anime. He's so devoted and I love it! Anyway, he has now decided to follow Tsuna to the ends of the earth. Yay! Because we all need some puppy dog Gokudera to make our day complete. And oh my goodness if my brother doesn't stop knocking at my door! Sorry about that he keeps bugging me about getting this chapter finished so he can watch more anime on my laptop. I'm still torn on the subject. On one side I love the fact that I've gotten him hooked to khr, on the other he keeps BUGGING ME! **

** Haha anyway...Tsuna is now the official heir and he'll learn that next chapter. Hehehe days of hell indeed. But at least he'll have his ever loyal dog, cough, I mean Gokudera!**

**Review Time!**

**_Bleach-ed-Na-tsu~_ Haha yeah Gokudera is so silly sometimes right? Thanks so much for the review!**

**_silvermoon170~_ Haha yup I could wait to write him as a adorable puppy. Hehehe Thanks for the review! Tsuna's sky flame makes a short appearance this chapter, haha.**

**_Great~_ Haha I think the Varia would kill the students before they could teach them anything. Haha Timoteo has them far away from the new recruits as he could possibly keep them, but don't worry they'll show up. :) Thanks for the review! Yes Gokudera has now entered guardianship mode. hehe**

**_Pure Red Crane~_ Thanks for the review. Haha you'll have to see~**

**Okay! That's all for now folks! See you tomorrow. And remember to review, please! **

**Edit 9/21/13- There wasn't a lot to edit in this chapter. Thank goodness. It seems that I learn how to properly capitalize Tsuna's name this chapter too. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Declaimer****: Seriously why would anyone think poor me would ever own anything as awesome as khr?**

* * *

Timoteo sighed and he sat down across from the younger male. His storm, lightning and rain guardians stood behind his chair ready to defend him should the CEDEF leader try to attack him anger.

"My, we're talking a lot lately. I just saw you earlier, did you forget to tell me something?"

The blond man seemed to be in a chipper mood, not suspecting anything. Timoteo sometimes wished Iemitsu had inherited his ancestors intuition, but today he was grateful that man wasn't aware that he was about to flip his world upside down.

"Yes actually, though I deliberately choose not to tell you in Tsuna's presence."

"Oh, top secrete stuff, eh?" Iemitsu sat up straighter and became more serious.

"Well before we get to that, did you know Tsuna was injured in Weapons class today?"

"What?! Is he alright?"

Timoteo smiled gently at his concern before his face when blank again. "Yes, the boy is fine. The new recruits often get injured in some way. I thought you'd want to know, however because of the way he was hurt. Apparently due to the fighting of Rokudo Mukuro and Hibari Kyoya, Tsuna's roommate, Gokudera Hayato, was put into danger when he dropped his dynamite around him. Tsuna managed to activate his flames and push the other boy out of the way while taking the brunt of the explosion himself."

Iemitsu slumped and shook his head. "That boy is to kind for his own good."

"Indeed."

"So, what's his flame? Just out of curiosity."

"Sky."

The other man's eyes widened for a moment before he smiled. "That's my boy. So what did you want to tell me?"

Timoteo steeled himself for his next carefully chosen words.

"Iemitsu, you are aware of my current problems with my legs, correct?" The other man nodded, looking confused. "Along with my current lack of an heir? Sky flames are very rare…"

Iemitsu wasn't a dumb man he pieced it together immediately and launched himself at his elder. The guardian were ready for this, however, and pinned him down before he could do any damage.

"No! You can't choose Tsuna! He's not fit for that role! He to young! To kind!" The man struggled fiercely against his captures to no avail. "It'll ruin him! You'll ruin him!"

Timoteo sighed and stood. He walked over to the man and knelt in front of him leaning heavily on his scepter.

"This was not an easy decision for me Iemitsu, but I have made my choice for the good of the Vongola. Please understand if there had been any other choice I wouldn't have taken it."

"What about Xanxus?!" Iemitsu questioned angrily.

"You know as well as I do, that he is not an option." He looked in the younger man's eyes. "Iemitsu, today Tsuna didn't simply activate his weapon. He went into Hyper Will Dying Mode without the aid of a bullet or pill in order to get to his friend in time to save him."

Iemitsu froze.

"T That's impossible. Even I can't do that. No one can do that."

"Reborn saw it himself and it's said that the Vongola Primo could enter it with his powerful resolve alone."

Iemitsu didn't say anything. He wouldn't look at Timoteo and he took the chance to convince the confused man.

"From what Reborn has been telling me Tsuna may be clumsy and a little dense, but he has amazing potential. I have no doubt that he will make a wonderful Vongola Decimo."

"But at what cost?"

By Iemistu's defeated tone he knew the other man will support his decision and give his half of the Vongola rings when the times come. He didn't like it, but Iemitsu was very loyal to the Vongola. He placed his hand on the younger's blond locks.

"That, only time will tell."

* * *

Yamamoto was worried. He had heard that one of Hibari's and Mukuro's fights had caused someone to get seriously injured. But that really wasn't new and so he just laugh it off like normal because let's face it whenever those to fight there are always causalities. However, when neither Tsuna nor Gokudera showed up for physical training he started to get a little nervous. Surely they were just late right?

They never came.

When the class ended Yamamoto was immediately out the door not even stopping to say goodbye to Ryohei. He walked quickly down the halls trying hard not to run like he really wanted too. Yamamoto kept trying to convince himself that they weren't really hurt and they had just skipped class to no avail. Gokudera may do that, but Tsuna wouldn't.

He passed by a pair of girls, and froze slightly at the subject of their conversation.

"Hahi! So this Sawada guy pushed that scary dynamite guy out of the way and got hurt?" The brunette looked horrified.

"Yeah, I'm a little worried. My brother was talking about a boy name Sawada. I think I should tell him what happened." The lighter haired girl was clutching her skirt tightly in worry.

"That's a good idea, he'll want to know if he's Sawada's friend."

Yamamoto didn't hold back any more. He took off down the hall dodging people and ignoring the occasional adult who told him to slow down. When he made it to the infirmary he was informed that Tsuna was sent back to his room once he was healed. He smiled and thanked the lady hoping his expression wasn't too strained before taking off toward the barracks.

He took the stairs two at a time and nearly ran head long into the Simon group. Luckily they jumped out of the way though Enma did fall over. He called out his apologizes as he turned the corner. He stopped when he reached the familiar door and took a deep breathe fearing for the worst he opened to the door.

He didn't know what he expected, but Gokudera and Tsuna chatting happily while sitting around the table wasn't it. He stood there staring as Tsuna turned his head and smiled at him. Yamamoto managed to give him a shaky smiled in return as he slowly shut the door behind him and sat down on one of the cushions.

"Is something wrong, Yamamoto?" Tsuna looked concerned while Gokudera raised an eyebrow at him.

"Ah, well I heard that Tsuna was injured in Weapons class today and got worried…" He rubbed the back of his neck feelingly slightly foolish for rushing over here.

"Tsk, the nurse took care of Tsuna-sama ages ago Baseball Idiot."

_Tsuna-sama?_

"Gokudera, don't be mean. Yamamoto didn't know."

Yamamoto blinked, wondering when Tsuna started just called Gokudera by him name and not adding any honorifics at the end.

Tsuna smiled at him as Gokudera looked abashed by his comment. "It's okay, Yamamoto. The healers took care of my wounds and I'm not even in pain anymore."

Yamamoto wondered if he was dreaming. He smiled at them hoping his eye wasn't twitching.

"Haha well that's good. What exactly happened?"

Tsuna seemed to catch onto his utter confusing and explained the whole incident along with Gokudera's subsequent decision resulting from being saved by the smaller boy. Yamamoto smiled more genuinely at Tsuna's excitement over the fact that he managed to ignite his flame and Gokudera's praise of his magnificent skill. It looked like he was worried over nothing.

He watched them for a moment as Tsuna blushed bright red as Gokudera continued to praise him oblivious of Tsuna's embarrassment before bursting out laughing.

"What are you laughing about, Baseball Idiot!?" Gokudera's personality flipped in an instead and he had his dynamite out in seconds. "You better not be laughing at Tsuna-sama!"

"Ah Gokudera! Please don't!"

"Ahahaha S Sorry, I'm just glad."

His explanation made the other two pause and look at him in confusion so clarified.

"Everyone's getting along, and Tsuna stopped stuttering. I'm glad." He gave the two a large grin.

Gokudera looked away a little embarrassed and Tsuna grinned right back at him.

* * *

Tsuna felt like he was walking on air. He watched as his two roommate argued with each other fondly. He wasn't even sure why they were arguing anymore, but he was glad that Gokudera didn't completely change. Having the boy open up a little and smile at him was great, but being called 'Tsuna-sama' and treated like a king was a little weird. He hoped Gokudera gow out of it, because he really wanted to simply be the other boy's friend not his boss or something.

He chuckled when Yamamoto laughed off Gokudera's threats and shook his head at the two. Gokudera may not emit it, but it was obvious to Tsuna that the two of them were friends. Complete opposite, yes. But friends all the same. He glanced at the clock on the wall, and found that they still had an hour or so before the cafeteria started serving dinner. He turned back to his roommate and was about to try and stop their argument only to blink in surprise.

"Ciaossu."

"Hiiieeee?! Reborn? When did you get here?" Tsuna fell on his butt in surprise.

"The scream will have to go, a boss does not squeal like a little girl."

Yamamoto and Gokudera stopped fighting when they heard him scream and were looking at Reborn in confusion. Tsuna stared at the baby standing there on the table as if he owned it. He figured he wouldn't see the baby again.

"As for you question, I've been here since you were brought in unconscious."

"That long?!"

"Yes."

"Why?!"

Reborn simply blinked at him before turning to the other boys in the room. "Yamamoto Takashi, Gokudera Hayato what I am about to reveal is top secret. You may remain, but you will not repeat this information unless you are specifically told by the Ninth or myself. Is that understood?"

"Haha Okay."

"Understood."

They both looked a little apprehensive, but agreed anyway. Reborn nodded and turned back to Tsuna. He gulped a little wondering what was this secret and how did it concern him.

"Dame-Tsuna." He winced at the nickname, Gokudera bristled, and Yamamoto frowned, but Reborn ignored them. "What do you know of current Vongola politics?"

Tsuna frowned. "Um, nothing."

Reborn nodded. "As expected. Gokudera, what do you know?"

Gokudera straightened and thought for a moment before answering.

"Well quite a few people are saying that the Ninth is getting soft and he needs a new heir."

"Do you know what happened to the other heirs?"

"They were killed."

Reborn pulled out three pictures and Tsuna went very pale. "That is correct. The first heir and oldest of the Ninth's sons was shot in the head. The second heir, Massimo, was drowned, and all that was left of the third heir, Federico, was some bones."

"Hiiieeee!"

"There is a fourth son, but do to certain circumstances he is not eligible for the right to rule the Vongola. Therefore there isn't a heir."

"Ahaha Wow that's kind-of scary, but why are you telling us this?"

Yamamoto's smiled was a little strained, and Tsuna could tell the pictures had an effect on him.

"Because the Vongola needs a heir in order to continue. However, only one with sky flames can be even qualified and sky flames are extremely rare."

Gokudera caught on the quickest and his eyes widened. "But the heir also needs to have the Vongola blood. That's another qualification."

His voice was shaking slightly making Tsuna turn look at him worriedly. He didn't understand what was going on. Why was Gokudera panicky? Why did Yamamoto suddenly go serious?

Reborn nodded at Gokudera and pulled out a long weather worn piece of paper. "Tsuna already knows this, but I'll show the two of you since your upset."

He showed them what was on the paper and started to explain. "The Vongola's first boss retired early and crossed over into the dimension that Tsuna was born into. He is the great, great, great, great grandfather of Tsuna. Making him apart of the Vongola bloodline and therefore a legitimate boss candidate."

"Hiiieee?! What!? Me!?"

Tsuna felt like he was going to faint. That is until he was kicked in the head by a small foot.

"Don't be so loud, there are other rooms on either side of this one."

"Tsuna-sama!"

"Tsuna!"

Tsuna rubbed his head; the pain helped significantly in getting rid of his panic.

"I'm okay." He smiled at his worried roommates, before turning to Reborn. "Um, Reborn I really don't think this is a good idea. I mean I'm not fit for being a boss. Don't you remember all the things you said to me before? About my faults?"

"Your right. You're not fit, yet. However, the Ninth has asked me to tutor you and I will make you boss material."

Tsuna frowned. This didn't seem possible. In fact he was seriously starting to think that this was a dream.

"This is not a dream, Dame Tsuna. The Vongola Ninth has chosen you as his newest heir."

"But the rest of the heirs…" Gokudera was frowning deeply.

"They didn't have me as a tutor."

"There isn't a way out of this is there?" Yamamoto was more serious than Tsuna had seen him yet.

"No. The Ninth has made his decision."

Everyone paused when Reborn's stomach rumble.

"Well it's time for dinner." He jumped off the table and headed for the door. "Training begins tomorrow. You will attend classes like normal except for Weapons since we want to keep your flame a secret for your own protection. During the Weapons classes you will follow me to another training center. If you try and run I'll shoot you."

With that the baby was gone leaving the room in an awkward silence. Tsuna hung his head. Why was it just when he was starting to accept everything and enjoy life in this place something new and scary was sprung up on him?

"Hmmm." Tsuna looked up at Yamamoto who was staring at him intently.

"Yama…?" Tsuna wasn't even able to finish his friends name before the other boy spoke.

"I can see it!"

"Eh?" Tsuna blinked.

"What that hell are you talking about?!"

Yamamoto smiled at them. "I was a little worried and angry at first, but thinking about I can actually see Tsuna as a boss."

"Of course Tsuna-sama would make a wonderful boss! I'm just worried about his health! You saw those pictures; Tsuna-sama would have a very high chance of ending up like them!"

"Yeah, but Tsuna will have what those guys didn't." Yamamoto grinned and slung an arm around Gokudera's shoulders. "Us!"

"Ehhh?" Tsuna was now even more worried. What was Yamamoto talking about?

"We'll protect him and make sure he's not assassinated! If we keep him safe from harm and Reborn teaches him what he needs to know then I'm sure Tsuna will become a great Vongola Decimo."

"Yamamoto! I don't think…."

"Ha, The Baseball Idiot finally said something smart!"

"What?! Not you too, Gokudera!"

The silver haired boy knelt in front of him.

"Please, 10th allow me to be you right hand man!"

"What?!"

"Haha I want to be his right hand man too!"

"Idiot! There can only be one right man and that's me!"

"Why not?"

Tsuna sighed as they continued arguing down the hall. He wasn't sure what it was about. He got a headache when he tried to figure it out since they kept switching topics so quickly. Tsuna wondered if Yamamoto did it on purpose. Surly the boy wasn't as much as an idiot as he made himself out to be?

They continued down the hallways to the cafeteria, and got their food. Onii-san was already there with two other girls so they joined them.

"Hahi! Whose this?" The brown haired girl with her hair pulled back into a pony tailed asked Ryohei as they sat down.

"EH?! Oh that's Sawada, to the EXTREME!"

The lighter haired girl smiled at the loud boy. "Nii-san, what have I said about keeping your voice down?"

"Sorry, Kyoko! I will extremely try!"

Tsuna smiled at the other boy. He really was a nice guy.

"Haha I didn't know you had a sister, Sasagawa." Yamamoto smiled at the girls.

"Yes! I extremely do! This is my sister Kyoko and her friend Haru!"

Tsuna and Yamamoto greeted them politely while Gokudera tsked.

"Hahi! Are you the boy who got hurt today, Sawada-san?" The newly dubbed Haru pointed at him looking concerned.

"Oh, yeah I remember now. Are you okay Sawada-san?" Kyoko not only looked completely different, but also had a much softer voice than her brother

Tsuna smiled at both girls concern. "Yeah, I'm fine now. Thanks for your concern, and you can just call me Tsuna."

They all continued chattering throughout dinner, and had a fun time. Tsuna had to stop a few fight between Gokudera and Yamamoto, and some more between Gokudera and Onii-san, and strangely enough even more between Gokudera and Haru. But other than that Tsuna had a blast. It seemed like his circle of friends was continuing to grow and he loved it.

By the time they were parting way, the girls to their own room on the female side of the barracks, and Ryohei to his room further down the hall from them, Tsuna was ready to collapse in his bed and sleep. He wondered how Yamamoto and Gokudera still had the strength to keep up their bickering, but decided not to ask.

When they walked into their shared room Tsuna was surprised to find some things on his bed. A stack of notebooks, packet of pencils, a packet of pens, a new bag to carry the supplies in and some of his old possessions. He teared up when he picked up the picture of his mother and him. His handmade orange and white throw blanket, with little lions on it, from his mother was also there along with some of his favorite books. He picked up the small note on top of his blanket and smiled gently at the message.

_Reborn mentioned you not taking anything here, so I had one of my subordinates pick up some things he said was important to you. I'll be away for the next month or so, on a long mission, but we should defiantly get together after I come back. There's a lot I want to know about my dear son. _

_~Iemitsu_

That night when they were all sitting around the table again, Tsuna told them about his meeting with his father today and about the note. They sensed the mood and didn't say anything as he told his little tale. When he was done Yamamoto smiled at him and Gokudera patted him on the shoulder, his eyes soft. Without a word they went to bed. Despite his worry over being chosen as the next heir and fear for his life he was happy as he pulled his familiar orange and white throw over himself.

He had friends who cared about him, a father who was trying to mend their bond, and a place he could call his home. Right now he was the happiest he ever remembered being in his fourteen years of living.

* * *

**Awe, now that was a much cuter ended than last chapter. Next chapter Tsuna's happiness is torn away by the devil Reborn! Muhahhaha **

** *Cough* So! Tsuna is now officially the Vongola heir! Also I've got an outline for the whole story. Crazy I know. Seven chapters in and I finally have a full outline. Haha Anyway, I hope you liked Iemitsu's reaction! That was fun to wright! Haru and Kyoko make an appearance and Gokudera claims Tsuna's right hand man position. Haha Oh Gokudera. Also sorry I didn't update yesterday. I kept getting distracted by this wondrous thing called the internet. And I was re-reading the khr manga. Haha I'm on the Varia arc right now! I love those guys!**

** Review Time!**

**_LucianaDemon27~_ Thanks for the review! Haha _Really~_ Drat my attempt at being stealthy and mysterious has been seen through! Haha Thanks for letting me know the title. I actually haven't seen that movie, but from the description on wiki it looks pretty good! You'll have to wait for the hellish training next chapter, hehe oh the plans I have for poor Tsunfish. Hehehehe**

**_silvermoon170~_ Yup! I love puppy Gokudera! Yes, Chrome will appear, but later. Hehe Yes indeed, poor Tsuna. thanks for the review!**

**_Great~_ Haha Thanks! Yes, yes he will cry great tears of pain and misery. Hehe You'll find out~ And the scene has been made my fiend. Haha **

**_Glasses and Spectacles~_ Thanks so much! I really liked writing their interaction last chapter and spent most of my time on it. Haha Yes I can so see that happening. Hehe, Oh Hibari ad Mukuro why are you two so amusing? Poor Dino indeed, stuck with such violent people to watch over. Thanks for the review! I don't care if it's 'late' I love hearing from you dear! Can't wait to read you new chapter!**

**_MaelstromDS~_ Thanks for the review. Haha Yeah I get a little carried away with the explanations and since I have a love for writing stand alone dialogue I tend not to think of those. I'll keep that in mind in the future. I'm glad you like my view on Iemitsu, I don't like bashing characters so I try very hard to look at things from their perspective and so I may not like his choices I do like him as a character. Haha Yay I have a stalker! I've always wanted one! Thanks again for the review!**

**Remember**** to Review! You reviews drag me away from the awful distraction that is the internet and inspire me to write! Haha **

**Edit 9/21/12- Mostly punctuation errors this chapter. I can't seem to stick to one mistake and stick with it. Some chapters I have a lot of typo's, the next I'll have none, but a lot of punctuation errors in it's place. Jeez what is my malfunction? **


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry I haven't updated in a couple of days, but in my defense this is a huge chapter.**

**Declaimer****: Still don't own**

* * *

Tsuna was at that strange stage where he was both a sleep and awake. He had stopped dreaming, but was still unable to wake himself completely. He vaguely wondered what had forced his lovely dream to come to a halt, but could only find a small warning in the back of his head that said he should really wake up, right now. He frowned sleepily at that strange feeling and was about to drift off again when it happened.

His third day at the Vongola start with a shock; literally.

"HHHIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

A small foot to the face made him stop screaming and choke in surprise.

"A true Vongola boss wakes at exactly five every morning."

At the sound of Reborn's high voice he groaned. Why was that baby here?

"I told you training starts today."

Tsuna slowly sat up wondering what he did to deserve this cruelty. "Why couldn't you have woken me normally. Besides that our classes don't start till 8:00!"

"It's a traditional Vongola waking method and as I said before Dame-Tsuna a boss should wake at 5:00 exactly each morning. If you fail to do so I'll shoot you." A book was tossed at his head. "Also read a chapter every morning I'll quiz you on the contents every couple of days."

Tsuna looked down at the book with slight apprehension. He was a lover of books, but the large text in his lap seemed daunting. It was titled: _The Customs and Manners of a Vongola Boss. _

"Eh!? This sort of book exists!?"

"Of course, the third boss of the Vongola fancied himself a writer and wrote this for his heir and future generations."

"Oh, wow."

"Now go untie your friends and get ready."

"Eh?"

Tsuna looked across the room and found his two friends tied up and gagged on the floor. Gokudera looked pathetic his eye pleaded Tsuna to forgive him while Yamamoto looked like he's be laughing right now if he was gagged.

"Hiieee! Reborn!"

He looked for the culprit only to find him gone. He sighed heavily. Is this what mornings would be like from now on? He dreaded it.

After calming Gokudera down, who was almost in tears apologizing the three of them got dress and ready like Reborn said and sat down to wait until 6:30 for the cafeteria to open. Tsuna started to read his book, which he found out was rather dry. It literally was all of the customs and manners a Vongola boss was supposed to have in different situations. He managed to finish the first chapter with difficulty and dreaded reading the rest.

The three of them were some of the first people there including Mukuro and his little gang. He shuttered slightly when Mukuro's eyes landed on him for a moment and sighed in relief when they moved on to examine some other unfortunate soul. It was strange though, almost as if the scary boy was searching for something, or someone. He shook his head and continued forward. He felt bad for whoever the other boy was looking for, but it was none of his business.

Onii-san, his sister Kyoko and her friend Haru soon joined them and Tsuna forgot all about Mukuro.

"Since Tsuna was hurt yesterday we didn't get to go for a walk in the forest!" Onii-san paused to shove some food in his mouth, chew and swallow. "Why don't we go today?!"

Tsuna smiled at the other boy, and shook his head not knowing what Reborn had planned for him. "Maybe another time…"

"Sounds like a great idea."

Tsuna gaped. The baby was not there a second ago! And he was stealing Tsuna's food.

"Hey! That's mine!" He stared in horror as the rest of his breakfast was taken in a blink of an eye.

"It's a harsh and cruel world. You'll have to be quicker if you want to eat."

"How cute!" Kyoko and Haru squealed and gushed over Reborn until the little devil left as quickly as he came reminding Tsuna that he would pick him up after lunch.

"Who was that Tsuna-kun?" Kyoko's eyes were practically glittering, but he didn't know how to respond.

What should he tell them?

"Hahaha He's Tsuna's new tutor." Yamamoto jumped in to save him much to his relief and Gokudera quickly jumped in when the girls were about to ask another question.

"Tsuna-sama caught Reborn's attention with his potential so he decided to train Tsuna-sama himself."

"Wow Tsuna you must be powerful." Kyoko smiled at him.

"We got scouted by the infirmary since Kyoko has some powerful healing capabilities with her sun flames and I've got some potential with my mist flames, but we've been here for a while so that's normal. You only got here the other day right?" Haru looked very impressed.

"Haha That's still impressive! Is that why you're not in classes with us?"

"Yup, all of the new recruits who were scouted are being privately taught classes geared more toward the medical field since that's what we're going into." Kyoko looked excited about the prospect of being a healer and the girl started to talk more about their classes.

Tsuna learned that the bracelet around Kyoko's wrist and the necklace Haru wore were actually their Vongola Gear. They chatted some more before heading to class. Tsuna was looking forward to actually attending his morning classes today and wrapped his hand around the strap of his new bag. It was a black shoulder bag with the Vongola crest sewed on the flap in gold colored thread.

Hamment-sensei greeted him warmly asking how he was feeling. He smiled and told her that he was fine now. She nodded and told him to be more careful during Weapons class. To which he laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. He would no longer have to worry about Weapons class, but he was scared of what torture Reborn might put him through especially after this morning.

They settled down in the same desk as yesterday and waited for the rest of the class to show up. Tsuna was a little worried when that Enma person came in with even more bandages than yesterday. Gokudera assured him that was a common occurrence, but that didn't really help much.

When class started Tsuna paid attention and took notes hoping that he could do better here than he did back in Namimori. Much to his surprise the teachers words actual stuck to him instead of going in one ear and out the next. Hamment-sensei explained that each stone is destined for one person and one person alone. This was because each person's flames had a different frequency or wave that was unique. Kind-of like finger prints.

When History rolled around he learned despite there being many organizations fighting the Quae Perierat the Vongola was by far the largest and most powerful. However, despite the ability to stand on its own the Vongola allowed many smaller families to fall under its umbrella and fight for the cause without completely integrating. He also learned that each boss had six guardians. One for each of the different flames.

He wrote down everything and by the time History had ended his hand was cramping.

He grimaced slightly when Nezu-sensei entered the room. Out of all the teachers so far he disliked this man the most. Hamment-sensei was kind and explained things simply and easily encouraging questions and answering them completely.

The history teacher, Felinco-sensei was more of a lecturer. He didn't like a lot of questions, but he explained everything so well that there wasn't much need for any aside from some clarifications. It was obvious that they both were dedicated and loved their job and Tsuna respected that. He hoped that he would find a job he loved someday, but with the whole Vongola boss thing he wasn't sure he'd ever be able too.

However, Nezu-sensei had none of these traits and only seemed to love lording over the younger student with his greater knowledge. Tsuna had come across many of these types of people during his days at Namimori. They were often the most cruel to him though they never raised a hand. No, they inflicted emotional and psychological damage that could last a lifetime. He frowned.

He winced slightly as Enma was mercilessly picked on due to his inability to answer Nezu-sensei's question quickly enough. Tsuna really wished he had the guts to stand up for the poor boy who remained Tsuna of himself, but his tongue suddenly felt like lead. He looked down at the desk in shame.

The class continued in this manner for the next fifty minutes and Tsuna wished that it would just end. Nezu-sensei would suddenly shout of questions and whoever was unfortunate enough to be picked and those who didn't know the answer was belittled. Enma was the victim for most of these questions, but other students were also picked on. Though Tsuna noticed that Mukuro and his gang were left alone, and strangely enough so was he.

Several times it looked like Nezu-sensei was going to call on him and Tsuna prepared himself for imminent belittlement, but it never came. He just shrugged it off not noticing Gokudera's deadly glare or how Yamamoto's smile got a touch threatening whenever the teacher turned his eye on him. Tsuna counted it as a blessing and threw himself into learning the material. He was excited to realize that without any teacher or other students breathing down his next and whispering cruel words in his ear he actually understood most of it.

He'd have to ask Gokudera or Yamamoto to clarify a few formulas and explain a couple of other concepts, but he could figure the rest out on his own. By the end of class he was a mix of feeling proud of himself and disgusted by the teacher who was currently reprimanding Enma.

The four of them passed the Simon group and Tsuna once again had an internal conflict. This time it was resolved for him by Nezu-sensei's next words.

"You'll never get anywhere in life. People like you will remain useless and no good for the rest of you life always being a burden on the rest of us successful people."

His steps froze immediately as anger rose within him. He felt his ring heat up on his hand, but he didn't care.

"Tell me Sensei how do you define success? Do you consider yourself successful?" He never thought his voice could be as cold as it was right then. He felt strange, like he wasn't really in control of his actions or words and yet he was.

Nezu-sensei stiffed and turned to him anger flashing in his eye along with. Tsuna felt Gokudera and Yamamoto shift closer to him both their eyes were sharp and dangerous. Even Onii-san was frowning at the shrinking teacher. Tsuna raised a hand letting them know that he'd take care of it and their demeanor immediately changed. The teacher regained his confidence and smirked at him.

"Of course I'm successful. I have a master's degree in teaching and a PhD in science. Not to mention I'm working for the Vongola. That makes me successful."

He seemed so smug it was sickening, but Tsuna simply stared at him blandly.

"So all of your achievements automatically means you have the right to judge others and belittle them in front of their peers possibly cause psychological damage that could last them their entire life?"

Nezu-sensei opened his mouth, but Tsuna frowned and he shut it with a snap.

"I am no expert _Sensei_, but I don't believe someone who stands in front of young students and tears apart their self-esteem is very successful. In fact I think that only makes them cowardly an disgusting human beings. I don't know how a person like you managed to get a job as a teacher, but I can assure you it will be ending quickly if I have anything to say about it. If I have to go to the Vongola Ninth himself then I will."

With that he turned on his heel and marched off feeling both elated for standing up to a bully and scared to death because he insulted and talked back to a teacher. His ring practically hummed where it rested still warm from his earlier anger. He felt a little sick. What had come over him? Why did he act like that? He was never so calm delivering cutting responses like he was in charge. He gripped his hair and tugged as nervousness and slight fear rolled around in his stomach.

"Tsuna-sama that was wonderful! You handled that jerk teacher so well!"

"Sawada was EXTREMELY cool!"

"Haha Wow Tsuna that was awesome!"

Tsuna gasped and turned finding his three friends grinning at him brightly. He relaxed and smiled back albeit a little more on the nervous side. Gokudera sidled up to him and whispered something in his ear that make Tsuna want to go cry in a corner and scream at how unfair this entire situation.

"Just like a true Vongola boss, Tsuna-sama."

_I don't want to be a Vongola Boss!_ He wanted to scream that to the world, but he could only give Gokudera a pathetic look as he grinned at him happily.

Later in the lunch room as his friends were chatting and he was dreading his next meeting with Reborn the bandaged red head came up to him quietly looking nervous.

"Thanks for earlier."

The other boys vice was low barley even a mumble, but it warmed Tsuna's heart and he smiled at him. All his conflicting feelings about the earlier confrontation left him as he looked at the nervous Simon member.

"It's no problem. I was in the same position for basically all of my life until I came here. I put up with it because I had come to believe their cruel words, but to see it done to another person…" Tsuna trailed off blushing slightly.

His reaction may have been over the top now that he thought about it. Enma smiled in understanding and nodded.

"Thanks again. I I'll see you later?"

Tsuna nodded at the hesitant questions and smiled brightly as the boy when back to his group. He turned back to his own friends and found them staring at him their expressions unreadable.

"So some jerks thought they could be mean to Tsuna-sama did they?" Gokudera voice sounded eerily calm.

"Hahaha That isn't nice at all." Was it just him or did Yamamoto's smiled seem sinister all of the sudden?

"We should teach them a lesson to the extreme." Onii-san had an odd gleam in his eye that made his soft spoken words seem all the more threatening than when he shouted things.

"W Wait a minute!" Tsuna waved his hands in front of him nervously. "It's okay! I'm fine now, really! You don't have to hurt them!"

There was a long pause and Tsuna was worried that his new friend actually would find a way to his dimension to beat his former bullies up, but luckily the moment passed and the three went back to normal.

"Ahaha We'll just have o make sure that never happens again."

Gokudera and Onii-san nodded agreeing with the former baseball player.

"Yes, we'll protect him to the EXTREME!"

Tsuna smiled at them feeling a little happy that they cared about him even to the point of beating people up who didn't even remember him anymore. They could be a bit scary and slightly crazy, but they were good friends.

"Ciaossu."

"Hiiee! Reborn!"

Tsuna wanted to die right then and there when the baby's eyes turned on him. A scary smirk graced Reborn's lips and Tsuna didn't want to be left to his mercy. His mental pleading didn't work, however, and before he knew it his friends were waving him off cheerfully as Reborn led him away.

He wanted to cry.

He didn't though mostly out of fear. Despite his small size Reborn scared him witless.

They weaved their wave through the different hallways, out into the court yard and into the main building until they reach a large door. Reborn shoved him inside the large white room before slamming and locking the door behind him. Tsuna shivered in fear as the baby turned to him smirking.

"Dame-Tsuna…" Tsuna held back a scream at the pure joy in the babies' voice. "Since you are completely useless in everything that has to do with fighting we'll have to start with building you stamina, speed and strength to a decent level before beginning the real training."

"B but I d don't want t to f fight." Tsuna's stutter made a return and Tsuna wanted to slap himself for how pathetic he sounded.

Reborn simply raised an eyebrow. "The Vongola Boss is supposed to be the most powerful person in the organization."

"B but…"

His protests were useless as Reborn would have none of it and sent him running after his pet lizard that could apparently turn into a small race car. Reborn called it training, but with the constant bullets bombarding him and the ever elusive Leon Tsuna called it torture.

Twenty minute later found Tsuna collapsed on the ground panting and about ready to pass out. His had numerous cuts on his body from stray bullets and his knees an palms were raw from falling down on the floor. Reborn was recounting his failures making Tsuna feel worse and worse as he continued.

Despite his exhaustion he did jump when a loud bang echoed through the room along with a small boy. Tsuna blinked fairly certain he had passed out and was now dreaming. After all it's not every day you see a child wearing a cow print shirt and had an afro nearly as big as the kid himself.

"Gahahaha Prepare yourself, Reborn! Today is the day Lambo-san will kill you!" This threat was followed through with small pink grenades flying toward Reborn.

Tsuna had to rub his eyes and pinch himself as he slowly realized that this wasn't a dream. The odd child really did pull those grenades from his afro. Reborn seemed to take the whole thing well enough. He simply ignored the boy and swatted the grenades away when they got to close. Tsuna watched in horror as the child went flying in to the wall after being hit with his own weapons.

The explosions shook the ground and Tsuna jumped up forgetting his exhaustion and ran over what he thought was the smoking remains of the poor child Reborn just killed. He was surprised, however to find the boy sobbing uncontrollably but otherwise in one piece. He had some burns and bruises here and there, but he was otherwise fine. Tsuna couldn't believe it.

"Are you okay?"

He reached out to the crying boy and patted his head awkwardly. The boy sniffed loudly and looked up at him with wide green eyes that still held many more tears.

"Lambo-san is fine. Lambo-san must have tripped." He seemed to perk up, but tears still rolled down his cheeks. "Yes! The great Lambo-san, nine years old, tripped!"

Tsuna wasn't sure how to reply to that and so he introduced himself instead. "So your name is Lambo? My name is Tsuna it's nice to meet you."

His smiled was a tad uncertain due to the circumstances of the kid's arrival, but he boy didn't seem to notice. He was looking at Tsuna with large eyes, his cheeks still tear streaked. Tsuna tried to remember what his mom used to do when he cried and decided to whip away the tears.

"Are you in pain? I can take you to the infirmary if you want me too. Those are some pretty nasty bruises."

He was getting a little nervous when the child didn't say anything, but continued to stare up at him. He tried to ignore the stare and examined the boy's cloths. They consisted of a cow print tee-shirt and some jeans with a pair of beat up tennis shoes. He frowned at the state of the clothing and wondered if anyone ever bothered to tell the boy that wandering around with tears and whole in his jeans and shirts wasn't good.

"Leave him alone Dame-Tsuna. We still have your training to complete."

Tsuna frowned at Reborn. "He got hurt because of you. No, I'm taking Lambo to the infirmary and then were going to get him a change of clothes."

An eyebrow was raised and Tsuna flinched. "Hiieee! Uh I'm m mean, I s sorry R Reborn!"

"Whatever Dame-Tsuna. Do what you wish, but remember training tomorrow will be ten times worse."

With that the baby disappeared leaving a distraught Tsuna and a still staring Lambo.

"Hiiieee I'm going to die!"

He took a shaking breath and turned back to Lambo. "Uh, well I guess we should head over there, yeah?"

He pulled the boy into a standing position and led him out of the training room by his hand. The boys silence was unnerving especially since he was shouting so loud earlier, but Tsuna tried not to let it bother him.

"Can I call you Tsuna-nii?"

"Eh?" He looked down at the boy in shock, but Lambo was looking away. Tsuna noticed his red ears peeking out from his curling afro and smiled. "Sure go ahead."

"Gahahaha Lambo-san now has an Onii-san and is one step closer in his plans of world domination!"

Tsuna chuckled as Lambo jumped for joy, his grin nearly splitting his small face. He reminded Tsuna of Gokudera a little. Both of them tended to be very loud as if they wanted the world to think they didn't need them, but deep down they were lonely. Tsuna could tell from the state Lambo was in and the fact that he hadn't complained about being in pain despite the burns and bruises that injuries were common for the younger boy. He frowned. He didn't like it when kids were hurt. Why was he even here anyway? And why did he try to kill Reborn?

"Lambo, why did you try to kill Reborn?" He decided to go with the second question since Yamamoto and Gokudera did say the new recruits were getting younger.

"Lambo-san is always being pick on 'cause he's young so Lambo-san thought that if he kill Reborn who was younger than him but more respected then people would respect him like they do Reborn!"

Tsuna shook his head at the child logic. "Lambo, I think Reborn is older than he looks and even if he wasn't he's still very strong. How many times has he dismissed you like he did today?"

Lambo shuffled his feet while looking away.

"Not only that, but killing is wrong and young kids like you should have such dangerous weapons."

Lambo frowned and looked up at him angrily. "Tsuna-nii is the same as everyone else! Looking down on Lambo-san just 'cause he's young!"

Tsuna smiled gently and knelt down to the others height. "I'm not looking down on you Lambo. I'm worried about you. You're covered in burns and bruises and I'm worried that if you continue trying to kill Reborn or tossing those grenades around that you could get seriously injured."

Lambo looked confused and Tsuna decided to drop it for today. "Come on the infirmary is just down the next hall."

He tugged the boy along and managed to get him patched up by one of the nurses. The nurse also healed all of his scratches from his training. Afterward they headed back to the barracks to get Lambo changed into some hopefully less damaged cloths. Tsuna learned that the younger children had an entire wing on the first floor with their rooms, a large play room, a small cafeteria and rooms for the caretakers. Lambo tugged him along telling him all about it.

He also learned that Lambo had a roommate the same age as him named Fuuta, and played with a girl names I-pin often. He smiled at how excited Lambo got when talking about his friends, and allowed the younger boy to drag him to his room without a fuss.

Tsuna had to hold in a laugh when he saw the deplorable state the room was in. Cloths and toys and weapons littered the floor. The bed that Lambo said was his wasn't made and had crumbs the pillow. Tsuna shook his head feeling bad for the person who had to clean this room and for the other boy who lived here since all of the stuff seemed to be Lambo's from what he could decipher form the boys excited babbling. He glanced over at the other bed in the room. It was neatly made. He held back another chuckle.

Unfortunately Tsuna couldn't talk the boy out of wearing another cow print shirt, but he won his battle against the awful cow print pants. He buttoned up Lambo's shirt for him when he saw him struggling and they left the room. Tsuna looked at the clock and nearly panicked when he saw the time.

"Ah! Lambo I have to go to my next class." He smiled down at the boy when he stared to protest. "It'll be over with at 2:00 and my friends and I were planning to go for a walk in the forest. Would you like to come?"

He wasn't sure if it was aloud for the younger ones, but the way Lambo's eyes glittered in delight and how the smaller boy hugged him tightly made him not care. He waved as he jogged down the hallway still feeling extremely sore, but not willing to be late for a class he hasn't even attended yet.

Luckily he made it there in time and quickly moved over to his friends who greeted him enthusiastically. He laughed off Gokudera's concern over his ripped clothing and turned his attention to the teachers. There were three of them since it was such a large class. They explained what they were doing today and Tsuna was reminded strongly of dodge ball. Though the balls in questions were a lot larger and heavier than the small soft ones they used at his old school. Tsuna had a bad feeling about this.

The feeling was not unfounded at he was hit the minute the game started. He wanted to give up and go sit in a corner, but unlike at school you weren't out when the ball hit you. This was a test of speed, endurance, and strength. The teachers shout out ways to improve one's stance and aim as the two teams continued to throw the balls at one another relentlessly.

Tsuna was even more bruise by the end of the class and wanted to go curl up in a corner. His classmates had come to the realization that he was the weakest link and the other team exploited that mercilessly. Luckily he had Onii-san and Yamamoto on his team and Gokudera threw a fit every time one of his teammates hit 'precious Tsuna-sama' but he was still hit a lot.

He limped out of the class with his friends who didn't look nearly as beaten up at him. He wouldn't lie. He was a little jealous. He doubted Onii-san even broke a sweat. They grabbed some water from the cafeteria before heading outside much to Tsuna's displeasure.

"Gahahaha Your late Tsuna-nii, but Lambo-san will forgive you this once as long as you kneel down and apologize!"

Tsuna smiled at the sight of the young boy in front of them and noticed that he had brought a long two other kids. Tsuna assumed theses were Fuuta and I-pin.

"What!? Who are you, brat?! Why are you here?! How dare you order Tsuna-sama to kneel down!"

Tsuna laughed and put his hand on Gokudera's tense shoulder. "It's okay Gokudera. This is Lambo I met him when I was training with Reborn today. I invited him to go with us."

He turned to Lambo. "Sorry, we're late we went to get some waters. Who are you friends?"

Lambo seemed to forget all about the whole kneeling thing and introduce the slightly taller blond boy as Fuuta and the small Chinese girl as I-pin. Everyone greeted them even Gokudera after Tsuna nudged him and they set off for the trails.

"Haha Wow Tsuna you make friends quickly."

"Tsuna-nii isn't Lambo-sans friends he's Lambo-sans minion."

Lambo's reply made Yamamoto laugh and Gokudera bristle. Onii-san had already run ahead and both Fuuta and I-pin seemed unsure of them still. Tsuna smiled at them hoping to get them to open up a little and Fuuta gave him a small smile in return.

"I saw Lambo and your room." Tsuna's smile turned into a grin. "The cleaning lady hasn't been around in a while has she?"

Fuuta's smiled got bigger and he shyly replied. "She gave up a while ago."

Tsuna laughed and was joined by Fuuta much to the displeasure of Lambo who looked slightly disgruntled that his mess was being made fun of. He glared at Fuuta.

"Hey, Tsuna-nii is Lambo's Onii-san not Fuuta's."

"Why can't he be mine too?"

"Because!"

"That's not an answer!"

"Haha Tsuna they're fighting over you. How cute."

Gokudera tsked and looked away from the two having decided he didn't like the Lambo and children in general.

Tsuna shook his head at the two. "Hey, hey come on both of you can call me Tsuna-nii, okay?"

He waved his hands around trying to calm the two boys. They calmed down a little and smiled at him. He sighed in relief glad they could be so easily sated. A tug at his shirt made him look down at the third child that joined them.

"Can I-pin call Tsuna, Tsuna-nii too?"

He smiled at her. "Of course."

They continued onward through the trail occasionally joined by Onii-san. They learned the Fuuta had the strange ability to rank people and things. It was fun to listen to him and watch everything float around him, but Tsuna was unsure what to think of his ranking as first place for not being able to turn someone down and for having no ambition.

It was a given that he had the lowest endurance, speed and strength in all of the Vongola and he wasn't surprised to hear that. However to be ranked number one in those categories kind-of sounded pathetic, but Gokudera assured him that those were good traits to have. Tsuna thought he was just happy to be ranked number six on the list of the strongest recruits. Yamamoto was five despite not having activated his weapon yet and Onii-san was seventh.

Tsuna kept an eye out for Reborn, but never did see him. He wondered why the baby would give up a great chance to torture him, but decided to just count himself lucky when they headed back and he hadn't shown up.

Dinner was a hectic affair since the kids refused to leave them and make their already loud table even louder with their shouts and laughter. Lambo was the main instigator in this and while Fuuta tried to laugh it off I-pin would often try to fight the other boy to make him stop hogging or stealing the food. This of course led to some explosions and more and more people moving away from their table. Kyoko and Haru of course found no fault in the children, but Gokudera disliked Lambo greatly. Their arguments were some of the loudest.

Even so Tsuna couldn't help, but laugh with Yamamoto and the girls as he watched them. He wouldn't mind if their meals were as lively as this even though they got scolded for making such a ruckus.

Tsuna went to bed smiling again not know the danger lurking just around the corner.

* * *

"Your report?"

"Tsuna is woefully pathetic at everything physical, but that can be corrected given time."

Timoteo nodded having expected as much. Tsuna wasn't a fighter that was obvious to anyone who saw the boy. Under any other circumstances, if the boy had a different flame he would have probably ended up as some kind of healer or information gatherer instead of fighting.

"He does, however, have the uncanny ability to draw the oddest of people to him."

"Hmmm?"

"You know that Bovino child?"

Timoteo looked up. "Lambo Bovino. You mean the child that seems to have made it his life goal to kill you?"

Reborn nodded. "Yes. He tried another assassination attempt today and within ten minutes Tsuna had the boy calling him Tsuna-nii and allowing Tsuna to drag him to the infirmary."

Timoteo blinked in shock. He often received complaints about the child. He was unruly, loud and never let anyone tell him what to do. The damage the child's weapons caused gave him stacks more paperwork to work on before bed.

"Not only that, but the cows friends Fuuta and I-pin are calling him Tsuna-nii as well."

Timoteo shook his head. "Impressive. You've already told me about his other friends, Yamamoto, Gokudera and Sasagawa. All three of them have been noted for their skill. They will no doubt be powerful guardians for Tsuna."

"Yes, and he's also made friends with Sasagawa's sister Kyoko and her friend Haru Miura. The teachers in the medical ward have been singing their praises recently."

Timoteo nodded. He was still worried about the boy, but with the people he was surrounding himself with Timoteo knew he'd make it through Reborn's training and become a wonderful boss. He just hoped that their enemy would give the boy enough time to grow before making their move. He also hoped Xanxus would respect his decision and not attack the boy. Deep down, however, he knew these hoped were in vain.

* * *

** Number one for the new recruit strength list is of course Hibari, number two is Mukuro, number three is Chikusa, four is Ken and so on from there. The reason why the Simon aren't on the list is because they haven't gotten really powerful as of yet. Don't worry they will have their own arc in future chapters. It will take a while to get to them though since I have a lot of things planned before hand. **

** This is a long chapter! Oh my goodness its longer than the other one I said was long! I think it was ch. 4 or something. This has about 5,600 something words of just story, not counting this authors note! I know some author that can churn out that much easily but I have more difficultly doing that so I usually stick to around 3,000 words per chapter. Anyway more people were introduced and Tsuna go a taste of training. I have to emit writing that was hard. I didn't know what to make Tsuna do as training and I rewrote that entire scene several times. **

** Also I would like talk about Lambo for a minute. To be honest I started out under the impression he was going to be five like in the anime. However, as you can see it didn't turn out that way. I want his to be older for future events and therefore a little more mature. Not to mention that fact that by doing this I can get ride of that horrid cow suit. A shirt isn't much better, but hey at least it's not a weird suit thing. Anyway, I actually do like Lambo and I want him to have a bigger part. Therefore I made him a little older so he can fit into the roll I'm giving him. I hope none of you are disappointed, he's still the brat we all know and love, just a little older.**

**Now onto Reviews! Yay!**

**_Akioshino~_ Haha yeah I couldn't help, but add that one in. It just screamed Reborn to me. Thanks for the review!**

**_Faliara~_ Thanks! **

**_silvermoon170~_ Haha yeah, more torture I mean training awakes in future chapters. And Lambo has appeared! Thanks for the review!**

**_Great~_ I was planning for him to train alone since they all have different fight styles the guardians need their own teachers to pull out their potential, but I will occasionally have them train together so Reborn can get a feel of their strengths and what they still need to get stronger. Thanks for the Review!  
**

**_Pure Red Crane~_ Haha Indeed. Thanks for the review! **

**Edit 9/21/13- I apparently can't spell 'kneel'. I had to correct the word three times. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Declaimer****: Don't own, never will. **

* * *

Mukuro let a slight frown slip over his features as he gazed at the rambunctious group across the cafeteria. Had Hibari Kyoya been here he would have 'bitten them to death' for crowding too much. However, the former prefect was very adamant in his refusal to step a single foot in this room. He made it very clear to the blond leader of the Cavallone family that he did not like crowding with herbivores. Of course when he caught Mukuro listening in Hibari immediately tried to bite him to death for existing.

The self-proclaimed carnivore was fairly amusing to rile up and spar with, even if Mukuro refrained from using all of his strength and abilities. He found many things amusing in the Vongola headquarters, but that group of new recruits was not one of them. They were loud and constantly had smiles on their faces. It wouldn't have been so bad if they all had been weak and didn't interfere with his plans.

The ranking child, Fuuta was essential to finding the Vongola heir. He had been trying to find the Decimo on his own for the past week with little luck. The most obvious candidates turned out to not to be the one and even when he broadened his search to the less likely he couldn't find the elusive male. However, with the child constantly being surrounded by that group outside of classes and on the weekend it made it difficult to steal him away without anyone noticing.

That Sawada boy was the most annoying out of all of them. After all there were some promising people in that group for him to possess. Unfortunately they for lack of a better term crowded around the weaker boy like he was a beacon of light. It was annoying. He disliked favoritism greatly and it was obvious the boy was receiving it. After all the great Sun Arcobaleno, Reborn, didn't simply train anyone especially someone as weak and pathetic as Sawada Tsunayoshi. It was clear that his father as the head of the CEDEF had pulled some strings for his son.

Though he did have to give the boy some credit the younger Sawada had an uncanny ability to notice him when he was in the area. His frightened eyes would land on his for the briefest moment before he turned back to his friends and was distracted by his presence. Not only that, but the way he stood up to that fool teacher was quiet impressive. Due to that he had considered the boy a candidate briefly. However, as he watched to boy more he realized that with the little to no confidence, frightened nature, and absolutely no fighting ability there was no way he could be the Vongola heir.

He turned his eyes away from the group lest Sawada notice him staring. He glanced at his two follows that were silently eating their food. Though neither dared complain he could tell that they were sick of this awful place. The sooner they destroyed this hypocritical organization the better.

Mukuro smirked. Yes, now all they needed was the ranking child and their plan could begin…

* * *

Tsuna smiled and waved as Fuuta walked away, having forgotten his notebook in his room. In hindsight he really shouldn't have been surprised that the kids had classes as well. Reborn smacked him for his stupidity. He turned back to his breakfast smiling as Gokudera and Lambo fought over something trivial while Yamamoto was trying to calm them down. The past week, though hectic and sometime painful, was the happiest week of his life.

Though Tsuna was fairly certain that Reborn was a spawn of the devil sent from the underworld to torture him continually in the guise of tutoring him he still had fun with his friends. The kids had taken to following them around when classes were over and eating their food with them in the cafeteria much to the displeasure of their caretakers. They continued to call him Tsuna-nii and were constantly fighting for his attention. It could be a little painful when Lambo brought out his grenades, but Tsuna was slowly convincing the boy that violence wasn't always the answer. He thought it was sinking in since the small boys spontaneous attacks on Reborn were getting fewer and fewer for which Tsuna was grateful.

As it turned out word of his fight with Nezu-sensei did in fact reach the Ninth and the man was fired immediately for his actions. Apparently with all of the paper work the Ninth had he had somehow missed the stack of complaints about the man along with a very detailed report on how he didn't in fact had the degree's he claimed to. The student rejoiced slapping Tsuna on the back much to Gokudera's annoyance. Tsuna was simply glad the man was gone and he could concentrate on his classes without the constant abuse Nezu-sensei inflicted on the other students. The new teacher was a nice young lady who had a love for science Tsuna could never share, but appreciated it none the less.

The classes were difficult considering Tsuna was never really good at the whole school thing, but with the help of his friends and Reborn he was getting better. He preferred Gokudera's teaching method to Reborn's. Though long winded at least Gokudera didn't blow him up when he got an answer wrong in math or forgot a date in history. Know Your Enemy had to be the most interesting class aside from the stones class, which he learned was literally just called Stones. He never really thought to ask who the Quae Perierat really was.

As it turns out they were an organization similar to the Vongola. However, unlike the Vongola they aimed to take over and control the different dimensions for their own gain. Through the use of shadow weapons forge similar to the Stones they cut down any opposition and wormed their way into positions of power within dimensions changing influencing it with technology and powers from other dimensions thereby creating chaos in the universe and tipping the balance between the parallel worlds. This chaos could very well be the end of everything and the Vongola Primo, Giotto, realized this. In order to prevent the destruction of all of the dimensions he created to Vongola to counterbalance the turmoil that had already been inflicted.

Tsuna was personally overwhelmed with all of the information, but when he thought about it more later he was impressed with the Primo for standing up and fighting when it would have been easier to just ignore it. Tsuna didn't think he could be that brave. Another reason to add the ever growing list as to why he shouldn't be the Vongola Decimo.

It became very clear during Reborn's training and the Physical Training class that he was hopeless when it came to fighting or anything physical really. He tripped over his own feet and ran into walls on a daily basis. He couldn't catch nor throw a ball to save his life and the first time Reborn tried to teach him how to punch he nearly broke his thumb. His friends continued to encourage him and help where they could, but Tsuna could tell Reborn was getting more and more irritated with him.

He felt bad for the baby, after all he knew firsthand how strong he was and Tsuna hadn't gotten a taste of his true power at all! It must be difficult to train a useless person like him, but he did it without fail every day. From five till nine, Reborn would pop in and out of his day telling him things or sometimes just hitting him if he was doing something wrong.

Tsuna tried he really did. Despite not wanting to be the Vongola Decimo he tried to get the answers right or complete all of the hellish training. He did this mainly because he didn't like disappointing people and he felt like by failing Reborn so much he was disappointing the baby. Needless to say despite his effort he failed miserably in everything Reborn threw his way, but it wasn't as bad as he had first thought it'd be.

Sure Reborn's training was hell, but Tsuna had his friends to help him out when he was feeling down or was injured. Onii-san was surprising good at massages and for Tsuna's sore muscles that was heavenly. Kyoko would heal his smaller cuts and bruises while Gokudera had an extensive knowledge on how to treat burns.

The only time he truly feared for his life was when Gokudera's sister, Bianchi, tried to assassinate him for taking up all of Reborn's time. Her poison cooking nearly did him in a few times and he now had a healthy fear of scorpions. Especially the ones that made from storm flames. After Reborn explained that he was the Vongola heir she apologized and stopped her assault, but Tsuna was still afraid the women would pop out of nowhere and kill him when nobody was looking.

He shook his head to get rid of those dark thoughts and turned his attention to the clock. It was nearly time to go, so he cut into the argument Lambo, Gokudera and now Onii-san were having and told them. There pouts were all very cute, but Tsuna decided not to say that out loud and merely shared a look with Yamamoto who apparently had the same thought.

He smiled and herded the group out and to their first class of the day.

* * *

Reborn held back as sigh as he entered the Ninth's office and found all of the guardians were included in the meeting today. Despite him knowing they wouldn't say anything, he still didn't like to announce his current failings with Tsuna training. The worst part about the whole situation was the fact that he couldn't use the Dying Will Bullets because the boy didn't regret anything now that he had friends. Had he been like Dino or even like he was before in Namimori it would have been the perfect training method and would have saved a lot of time that he was now spending trying to building up the boy's body to a point where he could actually withstand the stress of maintaining his flame and using his weapon whatever it may be.

It was and irritating and slow process that tested Reborn's patients to the limit and set him on edge. After all should there be a problem, or Tsuna's encounters a actually assassin willing to kill him instead of the halfhearted attempt Bianchi made then the boy would be in major trouble.

"Your report Reborn?" The Ninth looked more tired than ever and Reborn felt bad for the information he was about to tell the man. It would not help his mood in the least.

"Tsunayoshi Sawada is still woefully out of shape and is still struggling to do the simplest of tasks. Though his pain tolerance has risen, his speed, strength, and stamina has not. His academic level is average at best thanks to the help of his friends, but the Physical Training teachers have given up on him."

The Ninth nodded in weary acceptance obviously having expected this. "I see. I see. He is doing well outside of your training though, correct? He's having fun with his friends?"

"Yes, their relationship grows stronger by the day."

"Good. Good." He smiled briefly before turning to his storm guardian. "Coyote, tell him what you have discovered. I think this might spell trouble for Tsuna and the Vongola as a whole in the near future."

The storm guardian nodded and stepped forward. "I have been getting reports from my men out on the field about the continuation of experiments done by the Estraneo after our demand for them to stop. I believe you have already seen some of the photos and read the reports I turned in on that subject nearly sixth months ago." Reborn nodded not liking where this was going. "Well it seems that all of their underground hideouts have been completely ransacked and everyone has been killed brutally."

Reborn glanced at the photos laid out on the desk before him frowning. "Do you have any leads on who might have done this?"

"No, we had been planning a full invasion and shut down of the Estraneo for a while, but it seems whoever did this decided to jump the gun. There is no evidence of who it might be, but this carnage isn't the end of it."

More photos were laid down on the table.

"Four other organizations were also destroyed in a similar manor. Three of them were our allies."

"Do you think it might be the Quae Perierat?"

"We don't think so. Their method of killing is cleaner. Besides there are no signs of shadow weapons."

Coyote was very tense Reborn noticed. It was understandable after all it wasn't just the leaders and adults killed during these massacres. The children were also slaughtered in the same brutal manor.

"So who is it then?"

It was Schnitten who spoke up this time. "We have no idea though we think that even if the person or people aren't technically part of the Quae Perierat they are more than likely associated with them. The Vindice managed to catch the murders, however they were attacked by the Quae Perierat and the culprits managed to escape."

The Ninth rubbed his forehead. "In any case we need to be extra vigilant, especially with the heir being very weak at the moment. It's very clear that whoever is behind this are very real threats."

Reborn nodded and bowed with the rest of the guardian. He had a bad feeling in his gut that it was already too late, but he pushed in down in favor of searching for his charge. He needed to train the boy extra hard now that this threat had surfaced. Tsuna may need to step it up very soon and it would do for him to be ill prepared. He'd look bad if the boy died while under his tutelage.

* * *

Mukuro smirked at the tearful boy in front of him. It was too bad that the kid had such a strong will and refused to rank anything, but he had a list of the strongest recruits so it wasn't a complete loss. Now all they had to do was draw the little Decimo out.

The sound of Ken and Chikusa entering the room made him smirk. It took quicker than expected to beat the three at the bottom of the list. His smirk widened.

"Kufufufu Let the games begin dear Decimo. I will find you yet."

* * *

** Okay this is the shortest chapter I've written for this story yet and I do apologize for that, but honestly I couldn't find a way for this to be any longer without making it seem to clunky. In any case I have fondly called this chapter the foreshadowing and exposition chapter for obvious reasons. A week had passed and Tsuna catches us all up on what happens while other characters provide foreshadowing for future chapters. Anyway I promise that the next chapter will be longer. It will be over 3,000 at the very least. **

**On a completely different note my birthday is coming up! Yay! I get cake and presents! Yay! My parent will be working on my birthday! :(! Anyway I probably won't be updating Sunday or Monday of next week because of this. **

**Now onto review~**

**_Faliara~_ Don't worry they will appear in due time. :) Thanks for the review!**

**_silvermoon170~_ I know so do I! Tsuna will get their eventually! Haha Thanks for the review!**

**_Pure Red crane~_ Off in his own mansion somewhere still currently unaware of the Ninths decision~ Haha It will not be a happy one let me tell you! Thanks for the Review! Hey that rhymed! Haha**

**_Glasses and Spectacles~_ Thanks for the review! Yes those girls are sweet so I decided to give them good jobs in the Vongola. :) I actually wanted to try and explain why their'd be a book like that so the third kind-of got thrown in, but I think it turned out well and if you like it then great! I'm glad you like it all (Yes, enma is so hugable it hurts) thanks again for the review!**

**_Great~_ Haha your review made me laugh! Thanks! At first I wanted him to have his final gloves, but the more I thought about the more I realized that he really needs to work up to it like he did in the show. So yes it will evolve over time as he continues to grown and fight. Thanks for the review! **

** Thanks for reading and don't forget to review! They fuel my motivation and prevent me from getting distracted by the horror and amusement of cat videos. No seriously I got into them again today (It's all Mitobe's fault!) but those dear reviews called me back from that abyss and I managed to type this out. **

**Edit 9/21/13- Lots of typo's in this chapter. Hope I got all of them, my computer shut down while I was in the middle of editing so I had to start all over. :(**


	10. Chapter 10

**Declaimer****: Nope.**

* * *

Timoteo stood in front of his window with his hands behind his back thinking about the current situation in great depth. Just this morning they had found no less than fifteen new recruits beaten to near death. None of them had woken from their comas and the healers feared that mental trauma was inflicted on them. He didn't have half the Hyper Intuition that the Vongola Primo or even Tsuna had, but he could still see the connection between these beatings and the recent massacres of other organizations. The wounds on the victims matched the ones on the recruits perfectly.

It appeared as though they're new enemy was right under their noses and they couldn't do a thing about it. His guardians were worried about him thinking that these attacks were a cover up to assassinate him, but Timoteo saw it differently. It wasn't a distraction. It was a challenge. But it wasn't for him. No. The challenge was for Tsuna.

He had known of the existence of spies in the Vongola for some time. It was impossible to run and organization this big and not have them. It was clear that word got out that he had picked an heir and now this group had taken it upon themselves to try and draw Tsuna out. He feared for the kind boy. It was clear that the people behind these attacks had a major grudge against the Vongola and Timoteo could think of several reasons why.

He had wanted to keep Tsuna in the dark about many of actions the Vongola had taken since it began in order to keep the Quae Perierat in check. The sins of the Vongola was a heavy burden to place on a young fourteen years old should and he didn't want to break the child. However, if the perpetrators were to find out who Tsuna was he had no doubt they found reveal their motives.

Timoteo sighed and glanced at the clock. His mist guardian, Bouche, had said that he might have a lead on the true identities of the culprits Timoteo was waiting on his report.

He gazed unseeingly out the clear glass. He knew what he should do as a boss of the Vongola. He should order Tsuna to take care of the problem. That way the boy would have a chance to see real combat and hopefully grow from it. Should things go right the boy will gain power. If it went wrong…then the boy wasn't ready for the position of Vongola Decimo and he would have to find a new one. It was a ritual that all of the Vongola bosses did with their heirs. He himself had done it for each of his sons with the exception of Xanxus. The heir gained power or they died. It was cruel. But it was also effective.

He had accepted this unsavory task in the past with his boys, but something about throwing Tsuna to the wolves made him hesitate. It made him look back on his previous actions and orders and feel sick. He had authorized some of the cruelest acts upon another human being all for the sake of the Vongola's continuous survival. In retrospect he was no better than the Estraneo with their experimentation on children.

He glanced at the clock again. He knew he had to make a decision. He knew what was right. He knew what was wrong. He knew what would help the Vongola. He knew what would hurt it. He knew that the decision he was leaning towards could possibly destroy a young boy's view of the Vongola and human beings as a whole. He knew his decision could very well kill the boy.

* * *

Tsuna panted and huffed as he leaned against the cold wall trying not to fall over. Running like everything physical was not his strong suite. Despite this Reborn was adamant in his decision that Tsuna should run twenty laps around the perimeter of the training room every day at the end of the lesson. When Tsuna complained or slowed down Reborn would shoot at him. It was painful and Tsuna usually arrived to his next class all sweaty, out of breath and nearly collapsing from exhaustion.

Today was no different. As soon as Reborn let him go he limped down the hallway with a hand still on the wall the entire way. As he exited the main building and headed toward the school he sighed softly. Reborn was pushing him extra hard today and he didn't know why. He considered the thought that Reborn was getting impatient but threw that out immediately. Reborn was not the type to let his emotions get the best of him and lash out at other. Tsuna didn't know why he was so certain of that fact, but he was.

In the end he shrugged it off as Reborn trying a new teaching style and continued to limp forward steadily.

When he entered the school building he paused for a moment. Something seemed off. The students hurried to a fro trying to make it to their classes on time, but unlike other days they held an air of fear about them. The girls huddled in groups of at least three and the boys kept glancing around as if expecting an attack.

Tsuna frowned. That was odd.

He tried to ignore it as he walked to his class, but the tension was suffocating. He looked at the floor as a group of girls passed whispering to each other. What he caught from their quiet conversation made his blood go cold.

"Are they okay?"

"All the victims are in comas."

"They attacks are getting more frequent."

"Who's behind it?"

"No one knows."

"Why would someone attack the new recruits?"

Tsuna looked at their backs as they turned the corner feeling uneasy. First Fuuta went missing and now new recruits were being beaten to the point that they were all in comas. He didn't like this at all. Something didn't seem right about the whole situation. He thought about his friends. What if they were next? What if they had already been attacked?

The last thought made him rush to the math classroom fear making him faster. He wouldn't know what to do if his friends were hurt like that. His gut twisted painfully at the thought of seeing one of them in a hospital bed.

He managed to make it to classes in time and quickly searched the room for their usually spot. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw Yamamoto and Gokudera, but his chest clinched at the absence of Onii-san. He ignored the exclamation of surprise that he was actually on time from Jense-sensei, the teacher, in favor of darting over to his friends.

"Yamamoto, Gokudera what happened to Onii-san?"

The immediately noticed the fear in his eyes and smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry Tsuna he hasn't been attacked." Yamamoto put a hand on his should and led him to his seat gently.

"The turf-top apparently managed to activate his Vongola Gear today. The idiot accidentally blew up an entire wall because of his excitement. The Baseball Idiot here says that the teacher was talking to him when he left."

Tsuna smiled grateful Onii-san hadn't been attacked. "Oh good I was worried. I just found out in the hallways and I just…"

He shook his head trailing off. Yamamoto smiled at him.

"Yeah that must have been quite a shock. Since you had training with Reborn first today you didn't hear about the attacks first thing."

Tsuna nodded. "Yeah I panicked and ran here, but it looks like I was being silly."

"Tsuna-sama is so kind worrying like that over us." Gokudera grinned at him and Tsuna laughed a little feeling embarrassed.

"Well in any case I'm glad Onii-san managed to activate his Vongola Gear even if he destroyed a wall."

"Haha Yeah I feel a little jealous now." Yamamoto waved his ring in the air. "I'm the only one out of the four of us who hasn't managed to get my Vongola Gear yet."

"Tsk, That's just cause your weak."

"Gokudera!"

"Hahahaha Maybe you're right."

"Yamamoto! Don't laugh that off!"

"Sorry Tsuna-sama!"

"Haha Sorry."

Class started and Tsuna took notes like usual, but he couldn't concentrate. He kept glancing at the door waiting, hoping that Onii-san would appear. He never did though and Tsuna started to get worried. He understood talking to Onii-san about his new powers, but would it really take this long? Of course Onii-san was a little dense…but still! It wouldn't take this long even if Onii-san didn't understand the teacher would have given up by now at the very least!

Tsuna glanced at the clock. Only a few minutes had passed since he last looked at it and he sighed.

Math class ended and Language began.

Onii-san had yet to show up and Tsuna couldn't stop fidgeting with worry. Yamamoto and Gokudera kept trying to calm him down, but nothing helped. He had a really bad feeling. Something was very wrong. He knew. He just knew that Onii-san was in trouble. He couldn't place a figure on how he knew, but something in the back of his head told him Onii-san hurt.

When Language ended he was a complete wreck.

Gokudera and Yamamoto had to lead him down the halls catching him when he tripped and preventing him from running into walls every several yards. He only snapped out of his haze when a threatening presence approached them.

"Herbivores."

Tsuna flinched as Hibari Kyoya addressed them directly. He hadn't actually talked to the boy yet, but his reputation was legendary. Violent and moody the other teen only listened to Dino and even then not without a fight.

"You crowd with the loud herbivore, correct?"

"Hahaha you mean Ryohei?"

Hibari turned his eyes toward Yamamoto and nodded. "I was asked to inform you that he has been attacked and is currently unconscious in the infirmary."

With that said he turned on his heel and walked off. Tsuna stared after him wondering why he was worried about the scary boy. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling that Hibari was going to do something dangerous. His train of thought was cut off, however, when he finally realized exactly what Hibari said.

"Hiiieeee! Onii-san's been attacked!?"

The three of them rushed to the main building and down the hall to the infirmary only to find it crowed with other new recruits and healers rushing around to the different rooms trying to treat the surplus of patients to the best of their abilities. They were directed to Onii-sans room and darted through the crowd towards it.

Tsuna was surprised to find both Dino and Reborn in the room as well when they entered. He decided to dwell on it later in favor of immediately going to Onii-san's side and assessing his injuries.

Tsuna wanted to cry at the image he was presented with. Onii-san was so _pale _and lifeless. He had multiple bandages on his head and face along with a cast on his right arm. Tsuna stood there staring at him feeling guilty and powerless until Yamamoto and Gokudera put their hands on his shoulders. That was enough to snap his out of it and he looked at them.

Yamamoto was frowning, worry etched into his face while Gokudera's face was blank, but his eyes spoke volumes. It was clear that they were both as upset as he was about this turn of events. Onii-san was a friend. He had an air about him like he was always glowing. Maybe it was his Sun flames, but Tsuna thought it was because of his happy and energetic personality. He lit up the area with his smile and to see him like this was very painful.

"I'm sorry this had to happen." Dino started softly. "Kyoya and I found him in an empty hallway and I sent him to tell you what happened when Reborn told me you guys were good friends."

Tsuna nodded at the made his smiled strained, but grateful. "Thank you."

Dino grinned weakly. "No problem."

Tsuna's eye's darkened as he turned back to Onii-san. "Why is this happening?"

"It's a challenge." Tsuna jumped slightly at Reborn voice. "A challenge for the Vongola Decimo. A challenge for you."

Tsuna froze. Yamamoto and Gokudera tensed were they stood on either side of him.

"What?" Yamamoto's voice was cold and his very demeanor seemed to bring the temperature down a few degrees.

"Teeth have been yanked out of each victim in order. The first victim lost all twenty four of his teeth, the second twenty three, this trend continues onward through all of them. Sasagawa lost seven teeth." Dino was extremely serious while he explained this anger shone brightly in his eyes.

"It's been confirmed that the order in question is in fact the order that Fuuta ranked the new recruits based on strength." Reborn took over and showed them the list.

Tsuna paled. "That means the next one on the list is Gokudera."

He looked at his friend fearfully. Gokudera didn't seem to notice the look and scowled at the list.

"Who the hell is doing this?!"

Dino sighed. "We're still waiting on the Ninth to confirm the identities of the culprit. We heard that the mist guardian had found out, but they are still in a private meeting right now."

"Tsk."

"Due to fact that they are only hurting the new recruits and the fact that none of them are dead we believe that whoever is doing this is trying to call you out, Dame-Tsuna. Trying to find you by making you mad enough to confront him."

Tsuna glanced at Reborn frowning. "They're hurting people badly just to get to me."

"You are the Vongola heir." The tall blond smiled sadly at him. "It was the same thing for me when I was named the Cavallone heir."

Tsuna looked over at the man realizing something. "Wait. What? How do you know about me?"

"I told him." Reborn answered. "He was my former student."

He nodded and smiled at Dino a little shyly. "I'm sorry you had to get involved in this."

"It's fine. I want to get to the bottom of this as well after all a lot of the injured are my students." Dino shook his head obviously worried.

"All we can do right now is wait."

Tsuna didn't like Reborn's words, but he knew they were true. Without any information and with the threat of Gokudera being the next victim all they could do was wait.

* * *

Timoteo once again found himself standing in front of his window deep in thought. Bouche's spies once again went above and beyond in their duties and managed to get information as well as pictures of the culprits. His mist guardian had just left, leaving him alone to decide on his course of action. He turned back to the photos on his desk. Three familiar faces stared up at him. Two of which were merely children. Children who had been apart of the Estraneo organization and were subsequently experimented one when they went underground.

The other being the least likely suspect for such a bloody affair.

Timoteo had met Lancia only once, but from what he could tell the man was very kindhearted and held a deep love for his group. The very same group that was found massacred supposedly by his hand. The information the spies attained showed him as the leader of this rag tag group. Yet Timoteo couldn't quite believe that. His mind kept flashing back to the young blue haired boy he passed in the hallway the day he went to meet Tsuna for the first time. That boy had stood between two of the culprits who were half a step behind him the way the guardians often walked with their boss.

He glanced at the photos of their hide out. A broken down amusement park just passed the city on the edge of the Vongola base borders. A good spot that could be defended easily if necessary close enough to get too quickly, but far enough away any unusual activity wouldn't be noted. It was obvious that they knew what they were doing. They were strong too. Very strong.

He could send a large squad to take them out, but he feared that wouldn't work. They wanted the Vongola heir. They wanted Tsuna. Though the reason was still unknown, he was sure whatever they did to the boy would hurt the Vongola in ways they couldn't recover from.

He started to pace. Timoteo knew what he needed to do as boss, but that wasn't what he wanted to do. He was worried about the boy. His training was garnering no results and he hadn't even been exposed to a Dying Will Bullet to help get his body used to the effects the Hyper Dying Will Mode had on the body. If Timoteo sent him into battle like this he could very well die. Under most circumstances that would simply be sad, yes, but not the end of the world though it might feel like it. However, Tsuna had so many of the Primo qualities and at this point in time he was the only one who could become the Decimo. He was essential for the Vongola survival.

Timoteo didn't want the boy to see battle just yet. He was fourteen. He shouldn't have been burdened with the responsibility of being the Vongola heir until he was older. All of his sons were over eighteen when they inherited that title. But for the sake of the Vongola he had to start his training early.

And for the sake of the Vongola he was going to send him off to what could very well be his death.

He sighed and sat down. Sweeping the photo's out of the way he grabbed a piece of paper and pen. He stared down on it for a few minutes before he began to write.

He had to believe in Tsuna. The boy may be physically weak, but he had a strong heart and even stronger flames. His strong connection to his friends was nothing to sneeze at either. Timoteo was sure that under the right circumstances the boy could unleash his true power and activate his weapon.

He had to believe.

Tsuna was the Vongola's last hope. If he didn't believe in the boy now than the Vongola might as well be doomed…

* * *

**I'm such a bad author! I swear! I was re-reading my summery and I noticed two typos! Arg! I can't believe I never noticed that until now! Those summaries are like the blurbs on the back of book and are meant to draw potential readers in and there were mistakes! Ugh. Sorry about that guys I fixed it and yelled at myself for it. The funny thing is after I fixed that this morning my view count shot up to like 300 something. Haha **

** Anyway this chapter kind-of took a turn for the dark. Timoteo had a tough choice there didn't he? I feel bad for the poor man. He's lost so much. So yeah, I think the chapter is pretty much self explanatory. The Vongola isn't as good as they like to portray themselves to the kids. Isn't indoctrination lovely? **

_**Reviews~**_

_**silvermoon170~ **_**Thanks for the review! Haha Yup. Poor Reborn doesn't understand that sort of stuff so it completely went over his head.**

**_Pure Red Crane~_ Yup, yup. Trouble indeed. Thanks for the review! **

**_Bleach-ed-Na-tsu~_ Haha Mukuro is to stubborn to do that! Which is good cause it creates conflict and conflict is fun to write! Haha Thanks for the review!**

**_Great~_ Yes, silly Mukuro doesn't he know the saying 'don't judge a book by its cover'? Apparently not. Thanks for the review!**

**_MaelstromDS~_ It's call indoctrination sweetheart. It's often used in public school all around the world to make kids believe what the gov. wants them too. In this case the Vongola wants them to think of the universe in black and white term making it easier to fight and even kill for the 'good' side. I put that in there to contrast Timoteo's thought in this chapter foreshadowing Mukuro's reasons for why he wants to destroy the Vongola. Don't worry the differences in weapons will be explained. Haha I won't do something as easy as good vs evil. Especially since what I like about the anime/manga is the fact that Tsuna is inheriting a mafia family and despite his good heart and intentions it still has a nasty, bloody history that he will eventually have to face. In my original idea for this story the organization was going to be a symbol of what good intentions could end up becoming when people justify their actions as being for the greater good despite them being clearly bad. This was one of the reason I thought khr would really work for this idea. :) Thanks for the review! **

**_ggkkll~_ Oh my goodness I could stop re-reading you review and squealing like a little girl. Hehe Thanks so much! I'm really glad you like it! Haha I'll take that as a wonderful complement. I've been writing for years so I've had a lot of practice. I strive to be a successful author one day and I spend a lot of my time on my original novels. I write things like this on the side to practice my character building and general writing skills. Haha Thanks so much for your review! It made me really happy! And don't worry about your grammar ,sweety, you did a good job. :)**

**I love reading all of your reviews! So please send my more! I'm almost at fifty! *Does a little happy dance* **

**Edit 9/21/13- Not much here to edit aside from a few typo's. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Declaimer****: Nope**

* * *

They found themselves in their room a half an hour later under strict instruction not to leave. Tsuna stared at the table in front of him wondering when Reborn was going to come back and worrying over Onii-san. Kyoko had arrived not long after they had finished their conversation in tears. They spent some time comforting her before Reborn was called to the Ninth's office. Dino escorted them to their room and posted some of his guards outside of the door for safety measures. Gokudera was next on the list and Yamamoto was after him. Not to mention the fact that Tsuna was the Vongola heir.

He sighed and glanced at his two companions. Gokudera was sitting on the floor in front of his bed checking his inventory. The amount of dynamites on the floor around the silver haired boy made Tsuna's skin crawl. He watched him for a minute noticing how Gokudera's fingers would stray to his Vongola Gear every once and a while. Despite his relaxed position Tsuna could tell he was worried. He had his Vongola Gear in the form of his belt, but he was still learning how to use it and having a difficult time with it as well. Often or not he would come back from Weapons class with burns and bruises from trying to control his flames and activate his weapon. Tsuna's hands tightened into fists as he tried to control their trembling.

He turned his eyes to Yamamoto who was across the table from him. Both of the other boy's hands were on the table in front of him. He was staring intently at the Vongola ring on his finger with a serious glint in his eye. Tsuna knew that other boy was upset with himself over being the only one without Vongola Gear. Yamamoto thought himself to be useless. That much was obvious by the look on his face. Tsuna wanted to tell him it wasn't his fault that he wasn't useless at all, but he lost his nerve when Yamamoto's stare turned into an intense glare.

He looked down at the table again. What good could his words be anyway? They didn't mean anything and certainly could change anything. Tsuna shut his eyes. Yamamoto could at least fight. Tsuna had seen him in Physical training and that fact was cemented even more when Reborn gave him a bat that turned into a sword. Yamamoto wielded it with remarkable ease. Even without his Vongola Gear Yamamoto was amazing. Tsuna couldn't do any of that despite having Vongola Gear. An image of Onii-san lying on that white hospital bed bandaged and unconscious entered his mind. He gritted his teeth.

He was that useless one.

* * *

Gokudera tried to prevent his hands from shaking by keeping them busy. He never expected something like this could happen. To think someone managed to get passed the Vongola's defenses and was attacking new recruits without leaving a clue to their identity. Not to mention the fact that they managed to down the Turf-top. Gokudera argued with him constantly and despite the other boys' tendency to be extremely dense Gokudera knew he was strong. The idiot had a painful right hook and was fast to boot. Knowing that the Turf-top was beaten to the point of being in a coma made Gokudera uncomfortable thinking about the fact that he was next on the list.

No that was a lie. He wasn't uncomfortable. He was scared.

His hand drifted to his Vongola Gear as he scowled in annoyance at his own admittance of being frightened. He wanted to scoff and proclaim how completely confident he was in beating the jerks who were behind this, but he wasn't an idiot. He knew at the level that he was at now he'd most likely end up in a hospital bed as well. His other hand tightened its grip on the dynamite he was holding. He couldn't do anything with such ridiculous weapons as dynamites. He was childish in his attempt to look cool. What good would it do him against powerful foes like the ones they were faced with now? Tsuna-sama would….

Tsuna-sama would what?

Gokudera froze. What was he thinking? He knew where he was going with that thought. He figured that Tsuna-sama would be disappointed in him for losing. But thinking more about it he realized that wasn't the case at all. Tsuna-sama wasn't that type of person. He was a kind and gentle soul. He was the one who ask Gokudera to simply be his friend when he offered his complete obedience to the boy. Tsuna-sama wouldn't be disappointed with him for losing

Tsuna-sama would be sad if he ended up like the Turf-top.

He glared down at his chosen weapons feeling disgusted by the turn his thoughts had taken. He couldn't let his fear get the better of him. He couldn't start doubting himself. Tsuna-sama didn't want to see those he considered friends hurt. Gokudera knew that and yet there he was thinking Tsuna-sama would be disappointed in his lack of strength. Even the weakest had a chance if they were smart about how they fought. Dynamite was an unconventional weapon that was for sure, but combined with Gokudera's strategies…

Gokudera nodded to himself and started to put his dynamites back in their proper places. He just had to be smart. He couldn't let his temper get the better of his this time. He didn't want to make Tsuna-sama worry on his account. Even without being able to control his Vongola Gear he still had his dynamite and more importantly he had his mind.

Besides Tsuna-sama was going to be the Boss of the Vongola someday. What kind of right hand man would he be if he didn't have the determination to at least try to win a fight? He may not be strong enough or smart enough to defeat those guys, but when those bastards came for him then he'd give them a hell of a fight.

* * *

Yamamoto gritted his teeth as he stared down at his Vongola ring. He hadn't really cared before knowing that Tsuna and Gokudera had their Vongola Gear and he didn't. Nor did he mind when Sasagawa activated his during their Weapons class today. He had been happy for the other boy.

But it was different now. People were being attacked. Sasagawa was attacked and Gokudera was the next on the list.

He was the only one without Vongola Gear and he felt completely useless.

What could he do if they were attacked? He didn't know how to box like Sasagawa. His punches wouldn't be nearly as effective as the other boys, nor did he have bombs like Gokudera. The only thing he had as a weapon was that bat Reborn gave him, but despite it feeling comfortable in his hand he still hadn't had any training in swordsmanship. What if one of the attackers was a swordsman? He'd look like a complete idiot waving that around.

He glared at his ring trying to force it to change.

His hands tightened into fists in his irritation. As his nails bit into his palms he realized that he couldn't activate his Vongola Gear with the irritation he felt at being useless. His father had told him tales of his adventure when he was in the Vongola and so Yamamoto had come here with more information that the average new recruit.

He knew that it took time for the stone and the flames to accept each other. He father told him that when the stone was in an in-between state like his it could change at any time. He just needed to resolve to make that change.

The problem was he didn't know how to gather his resolve.

He wasn't even sure he knew what resolve really was. He knew if he asked Gokudera the silver haired boy would go into a long rant about it, but he couldn't understand things in that manner. He needed to do or feel it himself. He continued to stare at the ring memorizing its shape and engravings.

Yamamoto kept trying to figure it out, but his thoughts were a mess. He couldn't gather then in an organized manner and he knew that was his emotions fault. He was upset with Sasagawa's injuries and the people behind it. He was angry at the Vongola for letting the people behind the attacks slip by their defenses. But most of all his was disappointed and angry at himself for not being able to do anything about it.

He frowned.

He needed to calm down and gather his thoughts.

Yamamoto took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His eye's never left his hand as he tried to think of a way to understand resolve and how he needed to gather enough to change his ring into his Vongola Gear. He'd be useless to everyone if he couldn't do that much. He needed it in order to beat the guys coming after them.

* * *

Reborn carefully tucked the folder containing the pictures and information gathered on the attackers. The letter with the Vongola Ninths orders was out of sight in his jacket. He bowed to the Ninth and advised him to get some rest. The man looked beyond stressed and extremely guilty over the letter he just gave Reborn. The older man smiled warily and nodded, though they both knew he wouldn't listen to his advice. Reborn let it go, knowing there was nothing he could say that would help the Ninth. He turned and walked out of the room.

Reborn continued through the hallways and down a few flights of stairs. His footsteps were silent and his presence went unnoticed by the many members heading to their own destination. There was more activity than usual due to the attacks and the tension was practically tangible. Exiting the main building he headed over to the new recruit barracks. Ignoring the whispering voices of the worried recruits he continued to head toward Tsuna's room.

He didn't like to admit it, but he was tense with slight worry over the life of his current student. He knew a mission like this would occur. If the Ninth didn't order one then he would himself. Fighting in a real battle was a good way to gain strength and experience. Dino himself was proof of that. The blond had grown so much after his fight with that large group of Quae Perierat. As long as he had his subordinates around the man was a fierce and powerful opponent. He knew it was coming for Tsuna. Reborn was no stranger to the tradition for the Vongola heirs to partake in a fight very similar to that.

He just didn't think it'd come this soon. Nor did he imagine it being as difficult as this situation would no doubt turn out to be. Tsuna was weak right now and not just physically weak. He was also mentally weak as well. The boy was woefully naive and too trusting and kind for his own good. These traits weren't entirely bad; in fact, they're what drew people to him. However, those same traits led him to look at the world in very black and white terms.

Reborn frowned. This particular case didn't have those definite lines and Tsuna would most likely be very upset when he found out what happened to the boys from the Estraneo organization. This could interfere with what little fighting capability the boy had right now and end up getting him killed.

The guards in front of Tsuna's room bowed to him and he gestures for them to leave. He paused in front of the door, hesitating for just a moment. Leon licked his cheek and Reborn petted his partner while letting out a sigh. There was no point in stressing over the situation. Whether the boy lived or died. It was all in Tsuna's hands now.

Reborn just hoped his student wouldn't disappoint him. After all if Tsuna died his reputation would be ruined. Colonnello would never let him hear the end of it if that happened.

* * *

Tsuna groaned as a tiny foot smashed his face into the table. Reborn had apparently decided that was the best way to greet him. Tsuna disagreed, but his complaints went unnoticed or more correctly were ignored by the baby. Tsuna rubbed his head his eyes automatically flashing to his friends. Yamamoto had an eerily blank look on his face that Tsuna had a bad feeling about. While Gokudera had sat himself beside Tsuna his face set in a scowl. When he saw Tsuna looking he gave him a small smile his eyes flashing with determination. Tsuna returned the smile gratefully before turning to Reborn who was standing in the middle of the table.

"What d did the Ninth s say?" His stuttered made a return from its long absence and Tsuna winced.

Luckily Reborn had decided to ignore it for now. Instead the baby pulled out an envelope from his coat and handed it to him. Tsuna took it hesitantly. His stomach was rolling from nerves and a foreboding feeling washed over him as he opened the envelope and unfolded the letter. Swallowing thickly he read through it slowly.

Tsuna was shaking by the end of it. His hands clenched and unclenched wrinkling the fancy paper.

"Th The Ninth really w wants me t to d defeat t the g guys behind this?"

"What? That's crazy!" Gokudera reacted immediately. The paper was snatched out of his hand before Tsuna even realized it. The color drained from Gokudera's face as he read. "T That's crazy."

"Reborn! You know I can't fight! Didn't you tell the Ninth this!?" Tsuna bit his lip and looked down feeling ashamed for shouting.

Reborn didn't shoot at him like he thought he would. Instead he shook his head. "I have let the Ninth know every detail of you training. He knew full well what your capabilities are when he wrote this."

"Is he trying to get him kill then?!" Gokudera received a cold glare from the baby and immediately shrunk a little, but continued to scowl obvious waiting for a response.

"It is expected of every Vongola heir to complete a task such as this for the boss to gain strength and prove they are worthy of their title."

Tsuna looked at Yamamoto for support only to find a frown in the place of their eerie blank look from before. The frown wasn't much better. Tsuna felt disheartened.

"I c can't d do this…" His hands clutched the edge of the table as he looked at the floor.

"Those guys are trying to find you Tsuna." He glanced up at the baby in despair. He had forgotten about that fact. Reborn pushed forward. "Don't forget about Ryohei. He got hurt because of them along with a bunch of other innocent recruits. Not to mention the fact that it seems like Hibari Kyoya decided to take them on himself. He left the grounds to go find their hideout and hasn't been seen since."

"What?!" Tsuna thought back to when the other boy had told them about Onii-san. Tsuna had a bad feeling back then.

He frowned. He should have acted on it.

_But what could I have done?_

"But…"

"I'll go with you Tsuna-sama."

Tsuna turned to Gokudera in surprise.

"Let me come to, Tsuna."

"What?! Who would want you to come, Baseball-Idiot?"

"Hahaha Come on Gokudera."

"No. Tsuna-sama and I can handle it ourselves!"

He looked between the two in awe. Gokudera was fire up and Yamamoto seemed to have snapped out of the mood he was in before.

"You won't be alone Dame-Tsuna. Your friends will be with you every step of the way."

The two stopped bickering at Reborn's words and grinned at him. Tsuna felt a little hope spark inside him at their happy faces and gave a small, shaking smile in return.

Reborn's smirk went unnoticed by everyone. "Now that's settled then lets' move on."

Tsuna watched as he took the folder from under his arm and displayed its contents on the table in front of them. He stared at the three pictures as a cold shiver of dread made his way down his spine.

"T Those two are…"

"Yes. Ken Joshima and Chikusa Kakimoto are two of the culprits behind these attacks."

Tsuna looked at Reborn in horror. "But…why? How?"

"We don't know all of the details, however somehow they managed to slip into the Vongola as new recruits. The man who brought them and long with Rokudo Mukuro is currently being interrogated by the cloud guardian."

Gokudera frowned. "What about that pineapple bastard? Isn't he involved? The three of them are always hanging out."

"There is no evidence to prove his involvement aside from the fact that he is currently missing."

"The letter says that we have to rescue the hostage. Did the Ninth mean…?" He trailed off uncertainly and Reborn responded immediately.

"No he didn't mean Mukuro, though if he is also be held captive you should rescue him as well."

Yamamoto was the one who voiced Tsuna's next question. "Then who's the hostage?"

"Fuuta."

Tsuna gasped loudly his eyes widening in dismay. He really shouldn't have been very surprised Tsuna realized belatedly. Fuuta had been missing for some time now. He frowned. He wasn't just perturbed he was angry. How dare they use a child like this? His hands clenched and he felt his ring heat up slightly. It made him angry that they would kidnap and possibly hurt someone so young and defenseless.

Reborn looked at him for a moment before continuing. He pointed to the third picture on the table. "This is the ring leader, Lancia. He's the one we'll have to really watch out for."

Tsuna nodded as he gazed solemnly at the pictures. His voice was quiet when he spoke again. "Are they a part of the Quae Perierat?"

Reborn gave him an unreadable look. "No, they're not. They are a separate group."

"So why?"

Reborn frowned. "I'm sure they have their reasons. Most likely involving wanting power or something similar."

Tsuna nodded, not quiet excepting Reborn's vague answer, but deciding not to push it. "All right lets go then. The soon we get this over with the better."

"Yes, Tsuna-sama!"

"Haha Alright!"

The two bickered back and forth all the way to the door and Tsuna smiled fondly at them. He didn't like the fact that he was assigned this mission, but he was gratefully they were coming with him.

"By the way Dame-Tsuna, I will accompany you, but I cannot interfere."

Tsuna looked at him in alarm. "But I…I thought we'd b be fine with you…"

Reborn jumped up and slapped him on the nose. "Don't start doubting yourself now Dame-Tsuna or you won't survive this ordeal."

"Hieee!"

After Tsuna's little freak out they headed for the front gates. Reborn disappeared for a bit before reappearing on Tsuna's head making him stumble.

"What was that for?"

"I had to make some arrangements."

"Oh…"

Tsuna decided it wasn't worth the headache that would defiantly occur if he tried to get some information out of the baby and instead focused on the road in front of him. The dirt path they were walking on curved ahead and Gokudera said they were almost there. They turned the corner and were faced with the largest gate Tsuna had ever seen. He gaped at the sheer size of the iron gateway. It reached far above his head dwarfing the trees running along the path. The wall on either side of the gate was nothing to sneeze at either. Tsuna wondered what the Vongola expected to attack them to spur them into building such a large wall.

"That wall circles the entire property, which by the way is nearly 30,000 acres. We've only seen a tiny portion of it."

Gokudera's statement made Tsuna almost faint. 30,000 acres?! Really!? He had no idea the property was that big! Reborn smacked him telling him if he continued to gape like that he'll catch flies.

"Tsuna-kun!"

"Tsuna-san!"

Tsuna jumped as two familiar came running up from behind them.

"Kyoko-san! Haru-san!" He blinked at them in shock. "W What are you doing here?"

The girls glanced at each other before turning to him their eyes shining with determination.

"We're coming to!"

* * *

** I am so sorry that this is so late. I was having some trouble with this chapter and so I procrastinated, then stuff happened...so yeah. In any case I'll be starting my senior year soon so that means updates will slow down, and may even stop at some points since along with classes I'll have to apply for collages and scholarships. But don't worry I really like this story so I won't abandon it. The updates will just be super slow. I'll try to get as much chapters out as possible before school starts so we'll a least get pasted the Mukuro arc. **

**As for this chapter, well uh, there's not much to say other that the fact that I got pov happy and changed it several times. Oh yeah I also changed the plot a little and added the girls into the fray. Tsuna and Yamamoto have some detrimental thoughts while Gokudera works himself trough his problems. Yamamoto seems to have gotten over his plight, but Tsuna still has some serious self-confidence issues. I'm so mean to the poor boy. Anyway action starts next chapter! **

**Review**** time! I love you guys! I really do~**

**_MaelstromDS~_ Thanks for the review! As far as what happens to Tsuna...you'll see~ :)**

**_Great~_ Thanks for the review! Yup, that's exactly how it goes. Haha**

**_ggkkll~_ Thanks for the review! This chapter's terribly late, but I hope you like it. :) I'm glad you like the flow and dark vibe. I totally agree with you on the manga ending and your right I think the serious could have be darker it's set up would have made for some great ethical dilemmas, but I also like the sort of non serious vibe it has going on as well. Thanks so much. Nope, I'm not publish though I do have a fictionpress account where I post some of my originals, thanks for the support. You so sweet. :)**

**_Pure Red Crane~_ Yeah so do I, though I think it's mostly trauma from having several of my own pulled...*Shudders* Anyway, t****hanks for the review!**

******_Glasses and Spectacles~_ Thanks for the review! Glad you like it! Yes, he is totally fabulous! Especially considering his age! As far as Haru I was actually wondering if anyone was going to ask about that so no offense taken. :) I debated about what flames to give her for a while. I thought about sun flames like Kyoko, but I wanted something different for her. Her costumes came to mind and her out of the box thinking cemented the idea for me. I think because she is so flexible with her ideas and her love of using costumes she fits the bill for mist flame. **

******Well that's that. Please review and tell me what you think. :) **

******Edit 9/21/13- One more chapter to go! Haha I still have a bunch of homework I've been putting off as well...**


	12. Chapter 12

**Declaimer****: Haha I wish I owned KHR, but I sadly don't.**

* * *

"Hieeee!?" Tsuna stepped back a step in shock. "W What do you mean you're coming with us?"

"Exactly what we said." Haru answered immediately. "We're going with you to defeat those bad guys who hurt Kyoko's brother!"

"B But…h how…?"

Kyoko smiled gently at his confusion. "Reborn told us what was going on and we wanted to help."

All eyes went to Reborn who was still sitting onto of Tsuna's head. Tsuna frowned when he realized that he couldn't see the baby. He opened his mouth to ask his tutor what he was thinking when he told the girls about their mission, but Gokudera spoke up first.

"He's asleep…"

"Haha Well he is a baby and they need their sleep."

"Shut up Baseball-Idiot! What do you know!?"

Tsuna sighed. Of course Reborn would be asleep at a time like this. The message was clear. His demonic tutor wanted him to decide what to do now. He looked at the two girl in front of him frowned with worry before looking at the ground. He wasn't one to discriminate between genders. He had seen some pretty strong girls since coming to the Vongola and he didn't doubt that the two had power. He was just afraid that they might get hurt. This wasn't training. This was the real thing and Tsuna was already panicky that Yamamoto and Gokudera might get hurt. He didn't want anyone else to either, especially the only two girls that had ever been kind to him aside from his mother.

"Tsuna-san, my brother was hurt by these people." He looked up at the light haired girl. Her eyes were slightly unfocused as she looked beyond him at the gate.

"I…I can't just sit around and wait for someone else to stop the culprits. I'm not a very good fighter I will emit that, but I can still help. I can heal all of your wounds." Her eyes focused on his and Tsuna knew right away he couldn't argue with the determination shining in them.

"Kyoko's my friend so I'm sticking with her. I'm still learning, but I can cast some illusions and I know some hand to hand combat." Haru looked a little nervous, but still ready to face the danger a head.

Tsuna sighed. He glanced at his friends both of which had completely different opinions. Gokudera was scowling obviously not liking the idea of the two girls coming with while Yamamoto was smiling happy no matter what decisions Tsuna came too. Tsuna turned back to the girls and nodded.

"Just be careful, okay?" He pleaded quietly. "If you think you can't handle the situation don't force yourself to fight. The guys we're going to fight are really dangerous."

The girls grinned at him happily and nodded.

"Well now that issue is settle let's move on shall we?"

Tsuna held back a sigh as Reborn jumped off his head and walked toward the gate as if he hadn't been taking a nap on Tsuna's head just a second ago.

"Haha Great lets go get 'em!"

"This isn't a game!"

Tsuna smiled at his two bickering friends and followed Reborn over to the small guard's house on the inside of the wall. They didn't even have to say anything before the guard opened the gate for them and lead them toward a limo parked outside the wall. A man in a sharp black suit stepped out of the limo from the driver's door. His bright blond hair gleamed in the sunlight and his green eyes had laugh deep lines giving him a kind appearance. The driver bowed to them and answered their silent question.

"The Ninth let us know that you need transport to the city and instructed me to drive you to the edge of downtown." The man bowed again and opened the limo door for them.

"T Thank you."

The man smiled at his small thanks and nodded politely. "Just following orders, Sawada-sama. No need to thank me."

Tsuna nodded shyly and climbed in after his friends who were marveling at the luxurious interior. He was too nervous about the fight ahead to fully appreciate the expense put into the vehicle, but even he could tell it was top notch if the soft leather seat was anything to go by.

"I didn't know that there was a city so close to the base." Kyoko glanced around her in awe.

"Me neither." Haru smiled at her friend.

"Well if you paid any attention you would have." Gokudera was ignoring the fancy interior in favor of sulking over the fact that the two girls were coming along. "The teacher mentioned it in History the other day."

"Haha Really? I don't remember that." Yamamoto scratched the back of his head completely oblivious of the way Gokudera was glaring at him.

"_Yes_!" He turned to Tsuna who jumped in surprise. "Tell him Tsuna-sama!"

"Uh, I don't remember either…"

"O Oh…"

Gokudera floundered for something say as everyone laughed teasing the silver haired delinquent about his photographic memory. Tsuna cracked a small smile at their antics.

"They're not going to die you know." He turned to reborn in surprise. "As long as their boss man's up and protects them none of them will die."

Tsuna clutched his knees. "I'm not their boss."

"Not yet."

Tsuna didn't reply. Reborn had spoken with such finality that he knew he couldn't change the babies mind. It didn't stop him from thinking that those words sounded somewhat foreboding though.

Twenty minutes later left them standing at the edge of a large metropolis. Buildings towered high above them casting sharp shadows on the streets circling them. It would have been a magnificent site in the way most large cities are if it wasn't completely empty.

Not a soul could be seen for miles. Cars were left in the middle of the roads, some turned over others completely destroyed. The buildings have caters and slashes in them. A few of them had fallen scattering their ruble. The plants had taken over in place of human beings. Bursting out from the concrete and winding their way up buildings, covering cars.

They stood on an empty road leading into the downtown area staring at the destruction in from of them in shock and horror.

"What happened here?" It was Kyoko who spoke up first. Her hands were covering her mouth, her eyes wide.

"War." Reborn jumped up to Tsuna's shoulder and settled down as all eye turned to him. "This city along with this entire dimension was ravaged by the Quae Perierat in their attempt to whip out the Vongola completely nearly fifty years ago."

Tsuna looked at the abandoned and broken city once more. He suddenly felt the weight of the threat Quae Perierat presented. It was hard to believe all this destruction was caused by them. He frowned wondering how many lives were destroyed due to the fighting.

"Let's keep moving. The amusement park is on opposite side of the city. In order to catch them by surprise we'll cross the downtown area instead of walking the highway."

They nodded and started heading into the city avoiding obstacles and glancing nervously around the deathly silent metropolis. It was to quiet and Tsuna could tell everyone was uncomfortable, but he was too scared to break the silence. Finally after what seemed like hours Yamamoto spoke up.

"So I don't get it. Why is the Vongola based here of all places?" He glanced at Reborn, but it was Gokudera who answered.

"The Vongola has many bases across the dimensions, but the Ninth thought it fitting to base the main branch here since it would be the last place our enemies would look. Honestly, don't you ever listen to the teacher, Baseball-Idiot? They explained that on the first day."

"Haha My mistake." Yamamoto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and the girls giggled.

"After we capture the culprits we will most likely abandon this branch and settle in a different dimension. They may not work with the Quae Perierat, but this group does have ties with them so it's better to be safe than sorry." Tsuna glanced at Reborn feeling slightly thankful the baby seemed so assured with their victory.

It calmed him a little bit.

They continue chatting about trivial things as Reborn guided them through the city from Tsuna's shoulder. Every once in a while he'd slap Tsuna upside the head for saying some stupid or tripping over his own feet. The others would laugh or in the case of Gokudera fuss over him endlessly. Tsuna was starting to relax more and more.

That was until a building collapsed.

The only warning was a few bits of rumble falling on them and Reborn's shout before the skyscraper in front of them of them. The ground shook violent as Reborn tugged him away from the flying rubble and down a flight of stairs which must have been a subway entrance at one point. The ground was shaking too much for Tsuna to walk much less run down the stairs so before he even made it halfway down he tripped over his own feet. Tumbling head over heels down he was lucky he didn't break his neck. He hit the bottom with a sickening smack and everything went black…

* * *

Gokudera gasped for breath as he leaned against the truck he had taken shelter behind. He clutched his abdomen loosely trying to keep the dizzying pain in check. Gokudera had managed to explode most of the debris that flew at him from the collapsing of the building, but one large chuck managed to hit him in the chest. Resulting in a rather painful crawl to hide behind the large truck his was sitting behind now.

He was certain that several of his ribs had snapped and the others were cracked or at the very least bruised. He struggled to breathe hoping that Kyoko girl's healing abilities were up to snuff if he wanted to fight or even breathe properly anytime soon. That is assuming the girl had survived.

He stayed there until the ground stopped shaking. He had managed to get his breathe under control, but he could only take shallow breathes. Gritting his teeth he prepared himself for pain as he forced his body to stand. He could barely make it to his knee before his nerves felt like they were on fire. He bit his lip hard enough to taste blood as he tried to gather all of his resolve in order to keep moving.

He had to find Tsuna-sama. He had to see if the other boy was alright. He had seen Reborn tugging the brunette away, but he didn't know where or if the other boy had made it to a safe place or not.

What if Tsuna-sama was hurt?

With that thought in mind he managed to stand up and take a few hesitant steps while holding onto the truck for support. The pain was intense, but Gokudera's resolve to find his precious friend was stronger. After waiting a few moments for the worst of the pain to die down he managed to walk around the truck and get a glimpse of the destruction the fallen building caused.

He frowned. Wondering why the building had fallen in the first place. Nothing he could remember could have triggered its fall. Perhaps…

"It seems as though my mission to prevent intruders had garnered interesting results."

Gokudera froze at the sound of that voice. He had only heard the other boy talk a few times, but he knew that voice.

"Chikusa Kakimoto…"

"Hayato Gokudera you are my prey."

He barely had time to dodge as the deadly red yoyo's stuck towards him at alarming rates. He rolled away from the needles that spewed out of them gritting his teeth from the pain it caused him.

"Dammit!"

He tossed some dynamite to buy for time only to watch in dismay as they were disposed of immediately. There goes that plan. His mind whorled trying to find a way to win, but the pain clouded his mind making it harder and harder to focus. His vision tunneled suddenly and he slapped his own chest to shock himself out of fainting. It hurt like hell, but it jerked him wide awake and ready to roll away from another group of needles.

He glanced around him and realized with no small amount of horror that he was cornered. With a large mound of ruble on all sides of him that he knew he couldn't climb without passing out from pain or getting hit with those needles. He knew that his enemy had done this on purpose. He couldn't believe he fell for such a simple trap.

"Bastard!"

There was only one way out now. He lite one of his smaller dynamites and braced himself for more pain as it's explode propelled him forward. He couldn't manage to land a hit on the other boy, but he did toss some more dynamite.

"Double Bomb!"

As expected the glasses freak fell for his trick and Gokudera pressed his advanced by tossing even more dynamites. Clutching his throbbing chest gently he allowed himself a small victory smirk. No one could withstand that amount of dynamite and live. It was a good thing to because he doubted he could move right now, much less dodge another attack. He leaned back slightly and dropped his hand from his chest to tired and sore to even have the energy to hold it up anymore.

However; he relaxed to soon it seem, because before the dust even cleared needles shot out and stuck him.

The other boy appeared from the smoke covered in his own blood, his cloths burn and ripped beyond repair. It was amazing he was still standing. The fact that he was able to attack was a miracle. Gokudera fell back his eyes wide in shock.

He had underestimated his enemy.

"_Gokudera!_"

* * *

Tsuna woke with a splitting headache and for a moment thought he was blind. His panic was short lived when he noticed a faint light coming from his left. He got up wincing at every movement of his head and managed to turn towards it without fainting. He blinked slowly realizing that he was looking at a staircase. Dust and rubble littered its steps, but light still filtered in from the top.

He fingered the rather large lump on his forehead gently while trying to remember what had happened. He remembered walking through the empty city with his friends heading toward the abandoned amusement park. Then…Then…oh.

He remembered now. A building had suddenly collapsed and Reborn tugged him towards safety which happened to be an entrance to the underground subway. However; due to the stress of the situation and Tsuna's natural clumsiness he had fallen down the stairs. He winced as another wave of pain laced through his head from the bump. He must have passed out from the pain when he hit his head on the ground. His vision blurred and he hoped his didn't have a concussion.

Standing up he glanced around for Reborn, but the baby was out of site. Tsuna frowned, but didn't dwell on it further when he had a sudden moment of panic for his friends.

Were they okay?

Did they get hurt?

Did they…die?

He shot towards the stairs ignoring the blinding migraine in favor of searching for his friends. Worry clawed at his insides as he took the steps two at a time, something he would normally be unable to do without tripping. He neither noticed nor cared about this fact, however, and focused solely on making it to the top and finding his friends.

He would never forgive himself if they died.

He stopped short at the top with the site presented to him. He practically melted in relief when four eyes blinked at him in surprise at his sudden arrival.

Reborn looked completely untouched, which wasn't really a surprise, but seeing Yamamoto, Kyoko, and Haru looking fine aside from a few bruises and scraped made Tsuna want to cry.

"Tsuna-san! You look terrible!" Kyoko's gasp shook him out of his daze and he looked at her in confusion.

"Your face." Haru pointed in shock.

Tsuna blinked and touch his face. He winced as his fingers met scraped and swollen skin on the right side of his face.

"Gosh Tsuna, did a piece of rumble hit you? Your whole right cheek and forehead is bruised and swollen. Not to mention that awful bump on your head." Yamamoto's voice remained light, but there was worry in his eyes.

"Nope, Dame-Tsuna just fell down some stairs and hit his head." Reborn's blunt answer made Tsuna look down in shame.

That sounded so pathetic.

"Oh, well in any case let me see it." Kyoko smiled and walked over to him.

Tsuna watch in awe as the shorter girls bracelet glowed as her hand hovered over his face. Slowly the pain melted away leaving Tsuna feeling better than ever. He smiled and thanked the girl profusely. He glanced over at his friends still smiling before he noticed something.

"Where's Gokudera?"

Everyone's expression turned grim.

"Haru and I managed to take cover in another building and Yamamoto hid behind a car nearby. Reborn came and found us a little while after everything settled down. We tried looking for him, but we couldn't find him so we decided to head back over here to find you." Haru looked worried as she spoke.

"Haha Don't worry Tsuna we'll defiantly find him!"

Tsuna smiled at his friend, but his hope was killed with Reborn's next words.

"That building falling wasn't an accident. It was obviously a trap and considering that we should probably expect an attack from the criminals. It would be best to hurry and find Gokudera since he's the next target."

They nodded and started to debate on which way to go when they heard explosions in the distance. Without a word they started running toward them. Tsuna leaped over ruble and kept up with the others without noticing Reborn's probing eyes. He felt overcome with worry over his friend and it was all he could do not to imagine what horrible things that could have befallen Gokudera.

Despite running as fast as they could they still made it to the battle to late.

Tsuna watched Gokudera fall back as the needles hit him in the chest. It all happened in a millisecond, but it seemed like slow motion to Tsuna as fear grabbed his heart in a vice grip.

"_Gokudera!_"

* * *

** I'm sorry this is so late! I was focusing on my driving course online. You see I recently moved to a different state, so instead of getting my drivers license like I should have on my birthday I now have to redo that whole process. Needless to say it has been a source for frustration form me since I already know how to drive and have been behind the wheel many times, yet I am forced to read through countless little lessons on how to make a turn...:(**** Ugh, sorry I just needed to let out a little steam. In any case I was so annoyed and was trying to force myself through as much lessons as I could that I didn't update this story. Sorry about that. **

**On different note, I'm sure you'll be glad to here that I've got the rest of the Mukuro arc planned out as of now. :) I had about three chapters planned ahead, but the plot bunnies attacked and so I ended up planned the rest of the arc. Hehe Now all I need to due is type it...**

** Also I would like to explain Kyoko and Haru's involvement. I've change quiet a few things from cannon, but this is quiet major and I'm sure some of you are a little turned off by it, so I'm going to explain my reason for it. In the original series I was a little upset they never got very involved except for the future arc, but I understood it was because despite Reborn's insistence that they were in the Vongola since they were friends of Tsuna they weren't technically members. They were still two normal girls that were caught up in the whirlwind of craziness that is the mafia. In here they're involved; their members so I'm going to treat them as such. Will they take over the story. Defiantly not. Will they be as powerful as Tsuna and his guardian. Doubtful. But they'll still be more involved with the plot. If you don't like it I totally understand, and I'm not upset at all I just wanted to let you guys know my reasoning behind it. :) **

**With that said, onto reviews!**

**_silvermoon170~_ Well they might see him...maybe...checks notes...uh...Anyway, thanks for the review!**

**_Great~_ Thanks for the review! I know poor, poor Lancia. :( He needs a hug. **

**_Faliara~_ Yup, yup. Thanks for the review!**

**_ggkkll~_ Thanks for the review! Yeah I think getting into other characters minds to see their opinion. :) You'll have to wait a little while for Tsuna, but more fighting is coming up soon! Don't worry, the girls will help out when and were they can! :) **

**Thanks for reading! I apologize again for this tardy update, the next chapter will be up within a couple of days, I promise. Review and I'll work faster~ ;) Wink wink nudge nudge. Haha Ciao, Ciao!**

**Edit 9/21/13- Apparently my 'couple of days' means a really long time. Sorry guys. School has been rough, I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can though. **


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